The key to business success is an in-depth understanding of what it takes to sell your product. There is a need to learn the right skills so you and your sales team will not walk in the dark. This article teaches you the right skills and attitude required for an effective sale, of which some of them are motivation, creativity and problem solving skills.
The Sales Attitude
Here are some tips with which you can examine yourself to know if you have the right attitude for successful selling.
Love for Conversation:
Delight in having a conversation with people, by this, you will take advantage of the social aspect of selling.
Self-Motivation:
This is very necessary as a sales man who is self-motivated does not need a lot of supervision. He knows what is required of him to make constant growth in the industry.
Outstanding Presentation and Delivery:
The best sales reps take out at least 2 hours every week to improve their skills and make more discoveries with respect to their products.
Being Committed to Follow Through:
The importance of communication in sales relationship cannot be over emphasized as sales persons need to follow through with effective communication and a commitment to deliver on each sale.
Lend A Helping Hand:
Have a belief that you are assisting your clients live a better life with the product and service you are delivering.
Creatively Solve Problems:
Through creativity, sales men can overcome challenges as they are part of the entire sales process.
Respect for Prices, Product and Prospects:
There needs to be a display of confidence on the side of the sales person.
Do Not Give Up Under Pressure:
Irrespective of the terrain, sales men should keep selling as only the tough gets going when the going gets tough.
Continuous Skill Development:
The art of selling is a continuous learning process. Interact with other sales men, learn from them as learning never ceases.
The Sales Call
Here are a few guides to making the perfect call all the time.
• Study your clients to know when they are most likely to converse on the phone. This will yield more fruitful conversation.
• Let your client know the reason for the call first. If you are calling to schedule a future appointment, let the client be aware of this.
• Push the lines by making statements like, “I believe that you are interested in making improvements in areas like…” This would set the tone for further discussions.
• In choosing a time for the appointment, be specific, avoid vague and generic conclusions as they might lead to confusion in the future.
• When interacting with prospects, greet them by their name and tell them your name, company name and job title. Be friendly, making it as concise as possible.
• Make sure all contact details are as correct as possible. Double check email addresses, extension numbers to make sure you do not lose leads.
• Follow up your clients with a reminder. A short and personalized reminder will do the job. A result oriented customer service is also ideal.
• Make notes with respect to the analytics and get to know how many calls it takes to get the job done, how many meetings and conversations it takes to convert a lead.
The Discovery Call
Let us take a look at the common characteristics of a discovery call.
Do Your Homework
Run a background check on leads, reviewing all tracking data related to them. Checkout the company website and if they have any social media presence.
Make Their Needs Your Focus
Make their needs your priority, making them know that you have their best interest at hand, assisting them in making the best decision.
Get To Know Their Purchasing Ability
As you make them aware of the timeframe, do not lose focus of the financial aspect of the deal. They will find a way to pay for it if they truly need it.
Share Statements With Respect To Benefits
Making use of 2-3 statements of benefits relevant to the prospect will help. Take advantage of this by selecting specific topics with respect to what you have learnt.
Get Them Involved
During discussions, make them elaborate on their needs, do not dominate the meeting with your presentation. Ask relevant questions so you can get to know what their exact needs are.
Provide Them With Solutions
Make sure you are solution oriented with respect to your clients. Knowing the difference between a question and an objection is the key to this. Make it clear how your product and services is related to their areas of concern.
Understanding Should Be Established
During discussions, emphasis should be placed on the needs of the customer. Make use of notes you made during the phone conversation.
Measure Your Success
Business analytics that allows for the estimation of time between different stages of sales should be used. Customized pipeline reports based on discovery call criteria should also be used.
The Voicemail
Here is a list of what makes a perfect voice mail, ensuring that you are called back.
Use A Script:
In order to consistently deliver the message, make reference to a basic guide or a script.
Emphasis:
To maximize the limited time you have on the voice mail, make use of the right tone.
Reason For calling:
Make your request when you drop a message, move along the sales pipeline.
Reference Customers:
Sufficient knowledge of your clients is necessary. You should know about their industry and other references that are relevant to names used in your voice mail.
Ask For A Call Back:
If you are not called back, you cannot secure a meeting. Ensure you ask for a call back.
Important Elements should be repeated:
At the commencement and completion of the phone call, mention your name and phone number.
Monitor Your Outreach Efforts:
Allow for ample time for your potential client to listen to your message and call you back.
Measure Success:
To know if the voice mail is worth the effort, keep a record of the number of times your client called you back.
The Follow-Email
Here are pointers on how to get prospects to respond to your email.
Make Use Of An Engaging Subject Line:
Make sure subjects are personalized so it does not look like a generated email.
Keep The Design Simple:
Excessive designing can imply that you are coming across too strong. Hence there may be no response.
Build Rapport:
Make use of information that you have learnt about your client through calls and research. By this, you will build rapport.
Case Studies:
Make use of a case study that is in tandem with the industry your client is involved with.
Recap Questions:
Any important questions should be reiterated. Facts should be uncovered at the initial stages as this indicates an interest in addressing them.
Relevant Attachments:
Collateral that is most relevant to your prospects should be sent as an attachment to your clients. Include a brief description in the body of the email.
Indicate The Next Steps:
In the email, indicate the next steps necessary to be taken, this is a way of engaging your clients.
Measure Success:
Feed Backs should be collected from clients as a way of knowing their challenges. Respond to their emails.