While every part of your business is a vital cog in the wheel, if you are a company that relies on the power of selling products to customers, you need to be sure that your sales team is the best they can be. These people are your first line of attack, and they need to be capable of fine attention to detail and be a dab hand in the skill of psychology. While this may sound like an overblown statement, the best sellers are people who know when to speak, to not speak, and to gauge the winds in any given situation. There are some basic skills that you need your team to possess, and here are some key ones.
- Understand the Buyer
This is numero uno. The ability to identify the type of experience the buyer wants is a key to getting them to make a purchase. Every buyer has a set of expectations when they wish to make a purchase, the sales staff needs to exceed those expectations. So by going to the customer and getting a feel for buyer needs, and being sensitive to those needs, will have a positive impact on them. So many sales people use the “something in common” approach and will push this point home, as if this is the tool to closing the sale. It isn’t that at all.
- Trust Is Everything
Nobody will speak to someone that they have no faith or trust in. The old style used car salesman archetype is completely redundant in this day and age. Speaking to people that are completely reticent and unwilling to communicate are communicating that they don’t trust the seller. By understanding what the customer wants and by helping them, instead of being forceful, are two little ways to building a bond.
- Brevity Is… Brief
As a customer in the age of 24-hour communications and stress, we have no time to do anything. We know what we want, or we may not, either way, don’t waste time. Be concise and don’t incessantly talk. Sales skills such as this are a fundamental part of sales enablement solutions, where the ability to close a sale is dissected and analyzed. While we have the staff to do the selling, we need tools to keep track of their abilities, and brevity should be a key skill in closing sales, as in the modern business environment, timing is everything.
- React To a Customer
They say that the best acting is reacting. Instead of waiting for your customer to finish talking before you give them the pre-prepared speech about the product, listen to what they have to say, and take it on board before responding. The customer will react better to your ability to take their needs on board, and will be grateful for it!
- Always Be Helping
It’s not just about closing a sale; you need to help the customer. By offering to help in any way you can you will extend the olive branch and goes back to the importance of trust. Whether we are leading a team or helping a customer, trust is the one constant. Learn to establish it.
