Sales, Sales, Sales… Say it loud. Many consider the word DIRTY and go to extreme lengths to not use the word in marketing literature, their business card or even LinkedIn profile. Instead, most opt for ‘Business Development Executive’ or ‘Account Manager’ anything but the dirty word… SALES!
But realise this, we are all salespeople, YES everyone of us.
- For anyone in a relationship, we sold ourselves to our partner.
- If we have a mortgage or even pay rent, we sold ourselves to someone to be in that position.
I was playing poker over the weekend with friends, and I was discussing sales. I asked what the oldest profession was…
Almost everyone I ask this question answers the same (through gritted teeth)…
PROSTITUTION! Comes the answer
And my answer is always the same… NOPE, IT’S SALES!!!
Sales are, without a doubt, the oldest profession in the world, and something we will always need. But here’s the reason most people think of sales as a dirty word, its because they think it’s about convincing people to do things or purchase things they don’t want.
Sales are far from this, and once you fully understand sales, then you change the way you think about it too.
Let me outline the core aspects of sales.
Firstly, sales are about solving problems, and the bigger problem solved, the bigger the fee you get for sale.
Pretty simple right?
Just stop and think about that for a minute, if you can solve a big problem for someone, how much is that worth to them?
How much is it worth to you?
WHAT WOULD YOU PAY TO REMOVE ONE OF YOUR BIG PROBLEMS?
So to understand sales, here are my top tips:
Firstly, many think that selling is a one-stop journey and become massively disappointed when they start to hear people telling them no, or that they’re not interested.
Tip 1: The first cycle of a sale starts with PROSPECTING.
Don’t go straight in for sale, find out about the prospect first, can you honestly help them? Can you solve their problem?
Many people try and sell a product or service to someone without knowing what challenges the prospect currently has.
Understand that before you can start selling, you need to prospect, fill your pipeline and then begin to sell.
Tip 2: Selling and Closing are NOT the same things.
Many believe that because they have sold the benefits of the product offered, they’re asking/closing the business, and get frustrated when the prospect doesn’t rip their arm off to take you up on the offer.
Just because you delivered a killer pitch doesn’t mean you will secure the deal, and often you will find unless you ASK for the business, the response is usually ‘I need to think about it’.
Tip 3: Close The Deal.
As mentioned above, closing and selling are entirely different things. You need to ask for the business. This can be as obvious as it sounds, and often can be uncomfortable, even for advanced salespeople.
Give it a try, after you deliver your next killer pitch state ‘Have you heard enough to make a decision?’.
Remember, after you have delivered your pitch, you should move into the close, you don’t have to go back to selling.
Sales don’t have to be complicated, and it certainly doesn’t have to be about convincing people to buy things they don’t want. Solve peoples problems, understand that Prospecting, selling, and closing are different things, and you’re are a track to being successful at sales.
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