In the competitive market of sales, it is vitally important to develop skills and tricks to set yourself apart from other sellers. One of the most important abilities to have in any career is your ability to sell – sell yourself, sell your ideas, and sell your products. Skill in sales will open up doors to retail, management, advertising, and a plethora of other jobs. The key thing about a career in sales is that you are in control – you have the ability to push forward and make the most of yourself and your job, taking steps to hone your sales skills and increase your success in the field.
STEP #1: SELL TO YOUR MARKET
The first, and perhaps most important, key to improving your sales ability is to know your target group – whom you want to sell to. A well-crafted sales pitch keeps the target market constantly in mind, carefully tailoring expressions and words to appeal to that group. If your target group is young children, for example, your pitch should be geared towards selling to that group – with simple language, bright and colourful marketing, and vivid imagery. When selling to a business, however, cleanly outlining what you have to offer, and displaying strong facts or statistics packs more punch than a colourful description.
STEP #2: LISTEN TO YOUR MARKET
Being open to feedback and experimenting with wording can bring a mediocre sales pitch to a powerful level. Many salespeople will simply talk over the customer in hopes to overwhelm them into a purchase, but being more open and attentive will give you an instant advantage. Listening to your customer also puts you on their side, and makes them feel that you sympathize with them - no one cares how much you know until they know how much you care. When you listen to your customers, you will better know how to make them listen to you, and how to hone your sales skills to match your market.
STEP #3: KNOW YOUR PRODUCT
Whether you’re selling real estate or Barbie dolls, it is essential to truly know what you are selling. Knowledge of your product gives you an immense advantage over a salesperson that is simply “giving their pitch." Being connected with your product also allows you to be even more connected with your customer, allowing you to answer questions and converse with ease.
STEP #4: SET GOALS
More than almost any other career, success in sales is dependent on YOU - your attitude, your effort, your ability, and your motivation. Setting goals for yourself gives you something to reach for, and adds another level of action to the rhythm of your work. It is important to continually challenge yourself, setting realistic goals that will push your performance to the next level. Try setting goals on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis – and as you keep track of your performance, take notes on what works and what doesn’t!
STEP #5: HAVE FUN!!
As cliché as it sounds, your enjoyment of your job comes through to every customer you speak to. If you have a bad day, the customer feels that as well. So keep yourself energized, getting up and walking around, brainstorming creative ways to approach the same things, and getting connected with your customer and your product. Your attitude is everything – it will determine your energy, ability, and success.
Following these steps and maintaining a good attitude will put you well on your way to being able to hone your sales skills and improve your performance. Your drive, your determination, and your connection to your customers will make all the difference in establishing you as a top seller. A career in sales is challenging and rewarding, giving you the power to make every sale a success, and even earn a six-figure salary in your first year – it’s all up to you!
Making a sale doesn’t happen by accident or by luck, the sale is made because the person doing the selling has done a good job of explaining and representing their products.
Here are a few activities that will help you and your co-workers keep your sales skills sharp at all times.
Roll Playing
I know this sounds corny, but it really does work, and it puts everyone in the office in a good mood, because of all the laughs you will receive.
Make up a few fake, but realistic sales scenarios for you and a fellow co-worker to act out. Take turns playing the customer and the sales person. Repeat the scenario several times until you become comfortable with it. If at all possible, find a third person to observe and critique your mach sales sessions. If this is not possible, than critique each other.
Current Events
During each of your sales presentations with a potential customer, there should be some sort of small talk, or what you would call a relax period, where you relax your customer by discussing something other than your business and the product you are about to sell.
The weather is the most obvious thing to talk about, but it is a very boring subject and comes across fake, because everybody brings up the weather when they don’t have anything else to talk about.
Every day, in the morning, decide on a current event that you will bring up when making small talk with your potential customers; Such as a major news event or a major sporting event that is happening.
This way you will be prepared and won’t run into any snags in your conversation.
Shaking hands
Get into the habit of shaking hands. Every time you meet a potential customer, shake their hand. Most of us are comfortable with shaking hands, but for those of you who are not, here is a tip to help you reach a comfort level.
Each day that you walk into your office, shake the hands of your co-workers that are closest to you. Seriously, every morning, go in, look them in the eye, greet them by name, and shake their hand. They may look at you as though you are nuts at first, but explain to them that it is simply an exercise. Trust me they will get a kick out of it, and will respond with enthusiasm.
Remember, people don’t want to be treated as statistics, they wanted to be treated as people, so treat them that way. Shake their hand, look them in the eye, talk about things other than business, and use their name as often as possible.
By keeping your sales skills sharp, you will ultimately be keeping your sales up. Good luck!
Both Scott Deane & Jay Conners are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Scott Deane has sinced written about articles on various topics from Sales letter, Recruiter and Sales Training. Scott Deane is the Marketing Manager of meta-morphose international, a specialist agency. The company have graduate jobs in the UK a. Scott Deane's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.
Jay Conners has sinced written about articles on various topics from Sales and Negotiation, Marketing and Mortgage. Jay Conners has more than fifteen years of experience in the banking and Mortgage Industry, He is the owner of a mortgage resource site. You can also. Jay Conners's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.