It’s easy to overlook the subtleties of salesmanship in a highly competitive industry like sales. The pressure to close sales, identify leads and set up meetings is all-consuming. It is the finer aspects of selling and engaging with people that can help you achieve more success.
Selling is about being able to persuade and engage people. While factors such as age, culture, language, and personality can all have an impact on the way we interact with one another, there are some fundamental rules that guide our behavior and have a significant effect on how comfortable we feel about engaging with them. Understanding people will help you push the right buttons and make deals more likely. These tips will help to create a powerful toolkit that can be used to enhance your sales skills and increase your sales career.
Know Your Product
Get to know your products. You will be able to answer questions about your product and help to resolve any issues. This will give you a professional appearance. Before your customers can purchase your product, they must first buy into you. You cannot persuade a customer further if you don’t understand what you are talking about.
Know your industry
You can keep up to date with industry news by spending 20 minutes each morning reading news articles and reading the headlines. You can do all of this online, and in just a few minutes a day, you will have a list of topics to discuss with your market. Customers will appreciate the opportunity to speak to someone who is knowledgeable about current industry events. This will show that they are committed to the industry and have enthusiasm for it. It will also reinforce your status as a member and not an outsider.
Be personable
People are visual and are more likely to trust someone who is well-presented than their less polished counterparts. Dressing up for a client’s event is an innovative, professional way to make an impression.
It is easy to pretend to be a client you like. However, false personas can be very easy to spot because they are not natural. Natural body language indicators can help you tell if someone is lying or deceitful. If you start to adopt a false persona, these signals will be set off. Open, friendly, and approachable. Listen to your customer and then use that information to improve communication. Do not try to be someone you aren’t; instead, focus on being someone the customer can talk to.
Give things away
Customers will be naturally cautious and distrusting at the beginning of any sales process. It’s a natural human behavior. It’s a good idea to have some news articles, links to helpful information, or any other resources to show your willingness to help the customer as a whole and not just make a sale. These resources should relate to your customer’s industry but not to the sale you are trying to make. Helpfulness outside of sales shows that you aren’t just interested in the customer’s money but also in building a professional relationship.
Do More
Do some research about the customer and their company before you go to a meeting. This will make you stand out from the rest and help customers feel valued.
You must answer all calls promptly and keep all promises to customers. This is the best way to build trust. Trust is the best trust-building tool. Customers will not buy from people they don’t trust. Trust is the cornerstone of any relationship. Building trust early in a commercial relationship will increase sales.
Use the Correct Language
Salespeople are taught to ask open-ended questions in order to maintain a conversation. This is one of the most fundamental communication principles. It is essential to use the right words and be mindful of your body language when building a relationship with potential customers. More than half of your communication will be non-verbal. This is communicated through body posture. Your customer will feel at ease in your presence if you use friendly, non-threatening body language. Customers won’t trust people they don’t feel at ease around. They won’t buy from anyone they don’t trust.
You can also use the right words to help you gain insight into your customer’s mind. You can position yourself as part of a group or one of the pack by using the same terminology that your customer uses. The correct terminology shows that you are able to understand your customer and not just an outsider.
The Old School is the Best School
Face-to-face interaction is still the best way to interact with people. Vocal communication is also a great option. However, this doesn’t mean email and social media are not necessary in the world of sales. Technology should still be used to source customers and manage them. Use the phone to arrange face-to-face meetings when you get to the final stages.
Human Schedules
Take the time to learn about how your customers organize their days. Is there a time when a call from you is more appreciated? Do you think sending an email at a particular time is likely to result in it being deleted or just ignored?
Learn how customers plan their day and then plan your day accordingly. Do not call customers during their busy times. Don’t prospect for leads if your existing leads are more open to a call.
NLP
Learning the basics of NLP (or Neuro-Linguistic Programming) can help you communicate with customers more effectively. It will give you insight into your customer’s personalities and show you how to structure your sentences and words to make your message more appealing to them. Learn NLP and embrace its benefits.
