You will always be your number one customer.   It’s not the big account you service, nor is it the hot new prospect you just uncovered; it’s you.  The reason is simple.  If you’re not completely confident in what you’re selling, you will never come close to maximizing your sales potential. 

The current sales environment makes the need to sell yourself even more important.  If you think you’re the exception to this rule and you’re not completely confident in the products or services you offer, ask yourself this simple question:  Have you ever offered a discounted price to either keep a customer or attract a new one?  Few salespeople can honestly say they have never done this.  If you have, it means that you were not 100% sold on your product or service. 

As a consumer, when we don’t fully believe in what is being offered to us, we naturally expect a discount.  We want something in return for not being completely confident about what we’re buying.  Since the salesperson hasn’t communicated the level of confidence we need in order to buy the product at full price, we want some type of concession to make us feel better about the purchase.  

To be completely sold on your product or service, not only do you need to use what you sell, but you also need to understand all of the benefits that your product or service provides.  As a sales consultant who works with thousands of different professionals each year, I’m amazed at the number of salespeople who admit that they don’t even use what they sell.  How can anyone be totally committed to a product or service if they don’t even use it?  Furthermore, it’s not uncommon for me to see salespeople shortchanging themselves because they are unable to identify and explain the value of what they are selling.  Although this sounds basic, many salespeople cannot name five benefits their customers receive from using their product or service.  They can usually only list five features.  Without understanding the full array of their product’s benefits, there’s little chance the customer will ever see them too. 

A poor sales process is usually a good indicator of whether or not the salesperson is sold on the product or service they are offering.  Nothing conveys a lack of confidence faster than a sales process that is not professional.   Unfortunately, for many salespeople, a disorganized sales process is the norm and it only serves to destroy more sales and, ultimately, a huge amount of profit.  Despite the customer’s desire to buy, an unorganized sales process creates an air of skepticism that often can only be countered by offering some type of discount to close the deal.

With the current state of the economy, it is imperative that sales professionals be both confident and competent to achieve maximum success.   In any sales call, you best communicate these qualities by being completely sold on your product or service.  If you are not, find ways to better educate yourself so that you can become your number one customer.   Remember, “No customer is ever sold until the salesperson is sold.”

Mark Hunter, “The Sales Hunter”, is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability.  For more information, to receive a free weekly email sales tip, or to read his Sales Motivation Blog, visit www.TheSalesHunter.com.

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Mark Hunter, "The Sales Hunter", www.TheSalesHunter.com, © 2008