Here are the 10 best tips for successful selling.
I based these tips on my 30+ years of selling and working with hundreds of organizations and thousands of salespeople.
In the end, it comes down to these ten:
1. Be consistent
Nothing will create more success than consistently taking one step forward each day. Schedule time on a regular basis to prospect. Don’t prospect only when you have time or business is bad. Keeping the sales pipeline full requires daily attention.
2. Follow-up quickly
More sales are lost due to salespeople failing to follow up than probably any other thing. Fast follow-up is essential at every phase of the selling process from prospecting to closing the sale.
3. Uncover the outcomes the customer wants
It’s not about your product features. Sales success is about what the customer needs. The sooner you can get the customer to share with you what outcomes they desire, the sooner you can make that the focus. Selling is about how you can help the customer win.
4. Use voicemail prudently
How long should your voicemail be? Voicemail messages shouldn’t be longer than 14 seconds. Be brief, be confident, and most of all, make the message about them. For more great information on this, check out 5 Stupid Voicemail Mistakes and How to Avoid Them.
Want to go deeper on this topic? Enroll in Mark’s Phone Prospecting Masterclass.
5. Believe in yourself
If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect anyone else to believe in you? The rule still applies — people buy the salesperson first and the product/service second.
6. State your price with confidence
More discounts are given away because the salesperson doesn’t believe in their own price than due to the demands of the customer. When giving your price, make sure you have solid body language, a strong voice, and good eye contact. After stating your price, remain silent.
7. Know how to use your own time
The most valuable asset you have as a salesperson is not what you sell; it’s your own time. Far too much time is wasted preparing to sell, thinking about selling, getting ready to sell, etc. You have one objective — spend as much of your time in direct contact with customers as possible.
Read these 5 tips for How to Create More Time for Selling.
8. Don’t spend time with people who aren’t motivated buyers
It might be a prospect who is nothing more than a suspect or someone who is merely easy to talk to, but the issue is the same — wasted effort. The sooner you qualify the person you’re speaking to, the better off both you and the prospect will be.
9. Accept full responsibility. Never make excuses.
If you want to make excuses, that’s fine, but while you’re at it, go ahead and make another excuse as to why you’re not successful as a salesperson.
10. Be goal-driven and personally motivated.
Don’t wait for others to motivate you. They can’t. Only you can motivate yourself, and one of the easiest ways is by setting goals you know you can achieve and allowing your success to propel you to more success.
Choose today to strengthen your selling skills with these sales tips. In all my years of selling, these are the ten tips I return to again and again.
Self-paced, award-winning sales training wherever you want it.
The Sales Hunter University is the place for driven salespeople who know that continuous learning is key for success.
TSHU offers masterclasses on topics of sales and prospecting to hone your sales skills for just $59.
Want more? Become a member and get access to all masterclasses, plus workshops and monthly coaching.
The Sales Hunter Podcast with Mark Hunter, where the focus is to help you as a salesperson sell with confidence and integrity.
Listen on your favorite streaming service.
Copyright 2014, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of A Mind for Sales and High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results.
