Good sales habits
Sales habits for achieving success
Selling is one of the most exciting jobs in the world. It gives unlimited income potential and an opportunity for skill development. If you're not a sales person, these sales habits will assist you in climbing the corporate ladder:
1. Build trust and value: You're likely to pay attention to someone you believe knows what he is talking about. That is why it is so important to build trust and value. It is proven that people tend to buy more on advice of people they trust. Don't just give a one line recommendation, display value - why the product/service you're selling stands out from rest.
2. Ask the right questions: Before recommending/advising someone to buy your product/service, you need to understand their requirements. Asking the right questions will reveal what exactly your customer wants and thus, you'd be able to highlight the product features that would help them make up their mind.
3. Don't just sell, always consult: The moment customers realize you're trying to sell something, they're going to think "Oh ! he needs to sell". Always understand the problems and requirements of customer and then, first advise the kind of product or service they need. Give them options and then, recommend what you feel would serve their needs. This approach will gain you many happy customer and thus, via good references, earn more sales.
4. Take notes, make a plan for each prospect: Taking notes will help start a conversation next time. It also helps prepare better every time you speak to the customer. Also, based on customer input, plan in advance on what features of the product should be highlighted in your presentation.
5. Ask for referrals: You did you honest effort to give the customer what they wanted. It is a good professional practice to directly ask a happy customer to give a reference. Good references build trust which is more important than ever in a tough competitive markets.
6. Sense of humour: You don't need to be a joker, you may come off as being to needy. However, have just a little bit of fun when giving your presentation - a little joke here and there helps the customer listen to the presentation with a relaxed mind set.
7. Practice: Practice the presentation. Prepare in advance for the possible questions customer(s) may ask. However, do not try to answer every possible question in your presentation as it may make it too complicated and long for your audience to stay interested.
