This material can be used as a useful support to sales training or as preparation to any sales courses that you may attend. It can also be used in isolation to any formal sales skills training. Spearhead Training has developed this material through many years of selling, analysis of the key elements to a successful selling and through years of providing professional sales training courses to a wide range of delegates working in diverse industries and markets. The material therefore incorporates years of experience as well as consideration to some of the latest techniques.
The following list provides a useful list of tips for salespeople in order to maximise the chances of success. The list provides useful guidelines of do’s and don’ts and has been compiled from years of extensive field experience and research by Spearhead Training Limited as specialists in sales training.
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1. Do not be too keen to make your sales presentation. First identify what is important to the customer. Too many sales people start the meeting by making their sales pitch only to find out that half of the content is of no relevance to the prospect.
2. Qualify the customer before spending too much time with them. Identify whether they have the Money, the Authority, the Need, and whether you are a suitable supplier for them. Knowing where spend your time is imperative to sales success.
3. Prepare before the visit. Research the customer. Consider the likely issues that he is facing and therefore the possible lines of enquiry that you will take in your meeting with him. Equally customers want to deal with a sales professional who is prepared and has some prior knowledge of them.
4. Build your sales case by building the discussion around the areas that you have a strong proposition. This is key to real selling. Therefore consider your strengths and unique selling points and develop the conversation around these points. This approach is likely to present yourself as a good match to the customer in comparison to your competitors. In addition you must link these key points to the customers requirements.
5. Sell yourself. Customers want to deal with a professional. Make sure you establish credibility with the customer.
6. When making appointments- remember that in order that a customer gives up some of their time to see you, they must have a good reason to do so. Therefore make sure you have a worthwhile proposition.
7. Be sensitive to the type of customer that you are dealing with. Some customers want new and different solutions; others want tried and tested solutions. Some value good relationships with their suppliers and others want a supplier who has practical solutions to their needs. Understanding exactly what makes different personalities tick is a great skill of an effective salesperson. What is good for one customer is likely to be of no interest to another customer even though they may be in a very similar situation.
8. Set the scene at the beginning of the meeting. Let them know what you are going to cover. Explain that you would like to ask some questions. Gain their interest as soon as possible. They will otherwise soon be thinking “this is a waste of my time.”
9. Make sure you have sufficient evidence to prove your claim. Most people are distrusting of salespeople and we should accept this fact. Therefore prove any dramatic claims that you make whilst aiming to build trust with them.
10. Demonstrate when necessary. This is a critical part of the sales process. You have more chance of weakening your sales case than strengthening it with a sales demonstration. Your must ensure that it runs smoothly and to plan.
11. Remember that you cannot sell to every single customer. Always aim to identify whether you are progressing the sales process or merely continuing the sale. Many customers regularly perform an information gathering process which can be a waste of a salesperson’s time. Identifying time wasters is an important component to sales success. Ask yourself, how committed is this customer and I am increasing their commitment with every action that I take.
12. Be on time for meetings. Therefore manage you territory effectively. Arriving at a meeting late starts things of on the wrong foot. Aim to arrive early and make sure you have work to do such as updating customer records or making calls so that you use your time effectively.
13. Do not waste customer’s time. Whilst you are paid to be in front of customers, always remember that they are not paid to be in front of you. The least time they spend with you the more time they have for other duties and most decision makers want to use their time effectively. Therefore always make sure that you are being an effective use of their time.
14. Always show your company and its products and services in a positive light. It sounds surprising, however many salespeople overlook this factor. Sometime it is because they become jaded by customers telling them how slow their service is or they become frustrated by internal issues. If you are not going to be positive about your proposition, no else will.
15. Create value for the customer. Eventually the issue of price has to be covered. This is what good sales people are paid for: the ability to present price effectively and create value for the customer.
16. Be persistent but not annoying. There is a saying in selling that “persistence pays”, however there is a fine line between the two. Therefore it helps to have reasons to follow up with the customer. Part of the sales process is to identify and influence the level of urgency with the customer.
17. Don’t waste time selling to the wrong customers. Make sure that you qualify each customer and be prepared to close the meeting down at the earliest possible opportunity if they are not suitable.
18. Do not fear failure. Take calculated risks. The role of selling exposes people to rejection. Few people enjoy rejection. The best way to avoid rejection to not to see any customers. However this will of course not get any sales. Therefore in order to achieve sales, one must accept the risk of failure. Do not dwell on failure, learn from it and move on to the next customer.
19. Make sure you believe in what you are selling. Salespeople are only truly effective if they believe in the things that they are selling (excluding fraudsters of course). Therefore if you are unsure about certain aspect of your proposition, seek help and advice from those within your organisation. Few owners and Managing Directors do not believe in their proposition.
20. Be confident. Not arrogant. People buy into confidence, they find it reassuring. However there is a very fine line between confidence and arrogance and customers do not like the latter as it can indicate a gung-ho attitude toward the customer. Most of us like to be made to feel important by our suppliers.
21. Develop your communication skills. Selling is all about effective communication. This means being able to relate to all different types of customer and being able to talk in their terms. This takes practice, training and a huge amount of application. It is also a useful life and career enhancing skill.
22. Be a good listener and demonstrate that you have listened to the customer, as they want to feel that they have been heard. After all, in their mind they are much more important than you.
23. Always try to put yourself in the customer’s shoes. This is quite difficult for many salespeople because they go into meetings with their own agenda – which is to sell. Salespeople should put their agenda to one side and take time to consider what it must be like to be in the customer’s situation. This is likely to put you one step forward in the sales process.
24. Work hard and do not take short cuts. We are all tempted to take the path of least resistance. However in sales this leads to failure. Sometimes you will get away it however on average you have more chance of securing sales by following the correct sales process.
25. Never assume. It is easily done and many customers’ situations are similar. However always clarify anything that you are unsure about.
26. Know when to give up selling to someone who is not interested. Some times you will be able to meet the need of the customer much better than the competition, and the customer will still not buy. It could be for many reasons such as he a good friend with your arch rival. Therefore seek to gain commitment through the sales process in order to reduce the time spent in these situations.
27. Consider the various decision makers and try to involve all of them. Do not rely on your contacts to do the selling internally on your behalf as they are likely to fail.
28. Consider the various influencers to the decision and try to involve them. Decision makers will often listen to key influencers within their organisation especially in regard to technical. Therefore try to identify them and influence them.
29. Remember customers only think in terms of “What’s In It for Me.” Make sure therefore that you always give them a W.I.I.F.M. factor. I.e. a benefit to what you are offering.
30. Know the difference between your features and benefits to the customer. Only discuss a feature if you can link it to a benefit for the customer.
31. Consider how you can make best use of unique selling points (U.S.P’s). This will put you in a position of strength compared to your competitors.
32. Find out what motivates them personally, as well as their organisation.
33. Know how you compare against your competitors. Do your research. Be careful not to openly criticise your competitors when in discussions with a customer. They will only suspect and you may also be offending them if they believe your competitors to be good.
34. Make the customer feel important – and do it sincerely.
35. Prepare questions to ask the customer. This does not mean that you have to stick rigidly to each and every question. However preparation means that you have the right questions to hand in order to make the meeting more conversational and to get the information that you require.
36. Involve the customer during the meeting. People lose concentration quickly. Engaging them creates a dialogue which is a much more effective way of selling.
37. Proposals should be complimentary to your selling skills, not be a replacement for them. There should never be any surprises in a proposal. Use it to support your sales case.
38. Structure your presentation and/or proposal so that it flows logically for the customer. Remember what is the most important thing to him.
39. Be aware of body language when in a face to face meeting. Learn to observe the customer’s body language signals as a lot can be told by someone’s non verbal communication. Equally ensure that your body language is congruent with your presentation. We believe what we see.
40. Do not be afraid of objections - It is part of the process. Actively seek to identify any concerns of stumbling blocks that you have to overcome in order to close the sale.
41. Prepare the likely objections and your best answers. Yours answers should be clear and concise and provide reassurance for the customer.
42. Remember that no closing technique will overcome a poor sales process. Good closing techniques are complimentary to a good sales process. People will buy from you if they trust you; feel that you have a solution to meet their needs; are the right supplier for them. Therefore closing starts at the beginning. Ask yourself what do I need to do in order to get a decision from this customer.
43. Identify buying signals and react to them. Some customers may not outwardly communicate their concerns or thoughts. However we may be able to identify how they feel by their buying signals. This is important, as there is always a danger of missing these signals and over-selling.
44. Try to close at the earliest sensible opportunity.
45. Gain commitment from the customer throughout the sales process. You may use trial closing techniques throughout the sales process in order to ‘test the water’ and gauge at what stage is the customer in the decision making process.
46. Be respectful of the fact that it may be a big decision to make for the customer and help them through this process.
47. Remember that customers will usually query the price – whatever it is. Be prepared to overcome these queries. Negotiate if you have to.
48. Do not sell for selling sake. Revenue without profit is worthless.
49. Be prepared to ask for the business. Do not wait for the customer to ask you, as you might be waiting a long time.
50. Do not give discounts too easily to the customer. He will suspect you if you do.
51. Never be ashamed or apologetic of your prices. There is usually a good reason why you are a premium priced supplier. Use it to your advantage.
52. Organise your territory to minimise journeys. Travel time is not productive selling time. Try to visit more than one customer per journey when ever possible. Plan you diary so that you know where you are going be each day.
53. When you get the sale, explain the next steps to the customer.
54. Thank them for their custom. People liked to be thanked and they will remember you for doing so.
55. Aim to learn something from every meeting. Selling is a continuous learning process.
56. Enlist the support of others you admire. Ask their advice.
57. Remember: if the job were easy, everyone would be doing it.
58. Seek continuous improvement in your techniques as sales targets only go one way – up!
59. Enjoy your job. People who enjoy what they do are usually better than those who do not. Selling also provides you with a wonderful life experience. A few years in selling will provide you with a lifetime of stories to dine out on.