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There are dozens of selling skills that sales people should know. Here are nine of the most important skills every sales person must have.
Prospecting
Without a consistently full pipeline, you will struggle to meet your sales targets and goals. You will experience peaks and valleys and experience a great deal of frustration.
Unfortunately, very few companies actually teach sales people how to prospect effectively. And the vast majority of sales people rely on just a few prospecting methods such as cold calling or networking.
However, there are many other ways to drum up new business including; asking for referrals, approaching customers who haven’t purchased from you recently, speaking at industry conferences, writing articles, joining associations and actively participating, looking for additional opportunities to sell deeper into existing customers, conducting face-to-face cold calls, and arranging weekly coffee, breakfast or lunch meetings.
The key is to dedicate a significant amount of your weekly schedule to prospecting activities regardless of how long you have been in business or in your sales role.
Questioning
Although this sounds like a fundamental concept, the majority of sales people I have encountered over the last15 years fail to effectively execute it.
Many sales people ask low-value questions that do little to engage their prospects in the sales conversation. Examples include:
“Are you the decision maker?”
“What’s your budget?”
“What do you know about our company?”
“Are you interested in saving money?”
“What are your needs?”
Unfortunately, too many sales people still ask tired, out-dated questions like these. As a result, they fail to differentiate themselves from the competition or demonstrate their expertise.
True sales professionals know how to ask high-value questions. Questions that encourage their prospect to share details and information about their business that, in turn, will help the rep effectively position their solution. High-value sales questions can transition into tough, penetrating questions. Questions that make your prospect sit up and think. Questions that cause them to say, “That’s a good question.” Questions like:
“What goals are you striving to achieve this quarter?”
“What challenges are you experiencing trying to reach those targets?”
“What are those problems costing you in terms of lost revenue, customers, market share, etc.?”
“What impact is that having on your business? On you?”
“How important is this project compared to the others on your plate?”
“What could potentially prevent this from moving forward?”
“What internal challenges do you need to deal with before this project gets the go-ahead?”
When you develop the ability to ask high-value questions, you will stand out from your competition while also learning more about your prospect’s specific situation.
Listening
You can ask all the questions in the world but if you don’t listen carefully to what the other person tells you, you are wasting your time and losing valuable sales opportunities. Active listening means actually hearing what people tell you. It means asking clarifying questions when the other person says something vague or that requires elaboration.
True listening means that you stop multi-tasking during a telephone conversation. Don’t type notes into your computer, scan emails or anything else.
Focus your full attention on the other person.
Listen for underlying meanings, clues and cues and respond accordingly.
One of the most effective ways to show a prospect that you have listened (and heard) what they have told you is to quickly recap the key points they mentioned as being important.
Presentation Skills
“Um, I’d like to, uh, discuss how our service can, um, help you, uh, reduce employee turnover.”
Not a very compelling to begin a sales presentation, is it? Yet, this type of opening or presentation is not uncommon.
Two aspects of presentations need to be considered:
A. The content. Too many sales people include far too much information in their presentations and open them by talking about their company instead of the buyer’s situation. Resist the “include everything but the kitchen sink” approach and only discuss the aspects of your offering that are critical for your prospect to know.
B. The verbal presentation. Consider your pace, timing and actual delivery. The more important a potential sale is for you, the more critical it is that you verbally rehearse that presentation. Watch your body language, gestures, and facial expressions.
The best way to improve your presentation skills is to video-tape a presentation and watch it afterwards. It can be painful to watch yourself in action but it is the most effective way to see how you actually deliver a presentation.
Rapport-building
Developing a connection is still important in today’s sales environment even though we rely heavily on technology. People still buy from people.
Creating rapport with someone means connecting with them.
This does not mean that you talk about a photo on the desk or an award on their wall…that approach is severely outdated.
Instead, you need to be able to speak your prospect’s language. You need to demonstrate that you understand the business problem they face.
For example, if a client has experienced a significant decline in their profit margins due to changes in the marketplace you need to be able to talk about that problem—intelligently.
When you execute this properly, you not only develop rapport with the other person, you also position yourself as an expert.
You can also establish rapport by outlining the goal of your sales call, confirming the time that’s been allotted and then finishing early. No one will EVER complain about a sales meeting finishing early!
Objection handling
Objections are a natural part of the sales process. However, how you respond to them can make or break a deal.
First, it is essential that you outline the objections you hear most frequently. Then determine the most appropriate rebuttal. However, before you respond follow these three short steps first.
1. Empathize. This means verbally stating that you understand, respect or appreciate the other person’s concern. “Mr. Smith, I understand that you have budget issues to deal with.”
2. Clarify. Restate the objection back to the prospect in your own words to ensure that you clearly understand it “So you see the value in this product, it’s just that the purchase exceeds the budget you had allotted, correct?”
3. Seek permission. Ask the other person for permission to offer a solution. “Mr. Smith, would it be okay if I took a minute to discuss a few options?”
Follow this process and you will find that most people will be more receptive to hearing your solution.
Persistence
If you want to achieve long-term success in sales you MUST be persistent. However, there is a significant difference between being persistent and stalking someone.
Persistence means finding creative ways to keep your name in your prospect’s mind.
Persistence means not allowing the first few no’s to prevent you from pursuing high-value, legitimate sales opportunities.
Persistence means asking for the business, the appointment, or the right questions when necessary even if the prospect is going in a different direction.
Organizational Skills
To succeed in sales you need a plan.
You need to be organized.
You need to be able to outline your day, week and monthly schedule in order of priority.
You need to juggle the demands placed on your time because it is virtually impossible to get everything done that you need to in a given day.
This includes contacting your most important and valued customers first and investing more time with them than your low-value accounts. It means managing your time so you focus on completing the most important tasks first (i.e. prospecting) rather than spending time on things you enjoy doing.
Focus
Lastly, sales people need to have focus.
There are a multitude of distractions that threaten to challenge your focus. Email, telephone calls, text messages, problems, paperwork, and traffic are just a few.
Being able to maintain your focus on the big picture as well as the smaller details can make the difference between success and failure.
This also applies to each sales call and meeting. Determine the key objective for each call and focus on achieving that objective.
Selling in today’s hectic and complex business world requires tremendous effort and energy. It is highly competitive and stressful. However, you can improve your results and achieve a much higher return on your investment by developing and applying these essential sales skills.
Initiate
Listen
Probe
Present
Attach Feature to the benefit of your product
Create Common Ground
Summarize
Seek Agreement
Close and collect Order
The9 must know sales person essential selling skills are empathy, ego drive, ego strength, interpersonal communication skills, enthusiasm, planning, prospecting, objection handling and sales closure
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I echo with Mr. Kola on strong selling skills.
1. Assuming the problem that the prospect communicates is the real problem. It’s normal and natural to assume this; however, it’s important to look deeper into each scenario. Like a physician, we must ask ourselves “is this the prospect’s real problem or is it just a symptom?” Before diagnosing and offering how we can address their challenges, we have to ask more questions to make sure we’ll be getting at the root of their problem, and bringing value to the prospect by supporting their true goals. (Sandler Rule #38)
2. Thinking that your sales “presentation” will seal the deal. You should always be helping the prospect discover the best reasons to buy from you – not telling them why they should. The prospect should know that they’ll be buying from you long before you present your final pitch or proposal. (Sandler Rule #15)
3. Talking too much. One of the oldest Sandler philosophies is the70/30 rule. So often and especially in the beginning of a relationship, salespeople think they need to be doing all the talking, when they should be listening and asking questions. Keep in mind, if a prospect wanted a rundown of your products or services, he or she could just visit your website. The sales process is a conversation, and an honest and open one at that. (Sandler Rule #14)
4. Believing that you can sell anybody anything. People don’t buy simply on your say-so. A prospect must go through a period of self-discovery before making the decision that your product or service is the right solution. Resistance is pre-programmed and people don’t like to be told what to do (or buy). A better approach than “selling by telling” is to ask key questions or relate third-party stories that allow the prospect to discover the benefits and advantages of your product or services. When you ask questions that lead to a discovery, the prospect then “owns” the discovery and the resistance disappears. After all, people don’t tend to argue with their own data. (Sandler Rule #27)
5. Over-educating the prospect when you should be selling. The initial goal in selling is to find out why, and under what circumstances, the prospect will buy from you. Asking questions is first, and sharing your materials and specifics comes next. Sell today, educate tomorrow. (Sandler Rule #21)
6. Failing to remember that salespeople are decision makers, too. Every step of the way through the sales cycle, a salesperson must make critical decision as to whether to continue investing time in the relationship with the prospect. If you as the salesperson are a poor decision-maker, your lack of clarity and decisive action will be mirrored in your prospect’s behavior. Remember, the shorter your selling cycle, the more leads you close over time. (Sandler Rule #36)
7. Reading minds. Always get the facts from your prospect about what they need and why. When your prospect is vague, politely ask for clarity. Veteran sales people are often the culprits of “reading minds” because they think they’ve seen it all. But when they jump to conclusions, they make erroneous assumptions that lead to wasted time at best, lost opportunities at worst. As the old adage goes, “to assume is to make an ass out of you and me.” (Sandler Rule #13)
8. Working as an “unpaid consultant” in an attempt to close a deal. Sandler advises salespeople to play “Let’s Pretend” when a prospect asks for additional work and information before making a buying decision. Ask your prospect to picture a scenario where you complete the additional groundwork and provide a solution that fits everything the prospect needs – then what happens, will they buy from you? If they can’t envision pulling the trigger even after you’ve done the additional work, or if they’d still need another step in the process, it may be time to walk away or you may ask to move directly to this second step. When you want to know the future, bring it back to the present. (Sandler Rule #25)
9. Being your own worst enemy. Never blame the prospect for stalling the process. Instead, look inward. It’s the job of the salespeople to assure the prospect and address detours. The only way to streamline the process is to continue to refine your own sales approach and technique. (Sandler Rule #44)
10. Keeping your fingers crossed that a prospect doesn’t notice a problem. Sandler teaches that the only way to avoid a potential disaster is to address it before it erupts. Always come clean and be open and transparent if something problematic comes up along the selling cycle. The prospect will respect that you “came clean” and shared it, and together you can problem-solve, building a solidifying team approach to the issue. (Sandler Rule #23)
1- Listening Skills - Understand what the buyer wants
2- Communication Skills - Communicate succinctly
3- Problem solving Skills - Sell in a buyer-responsive manner
4- Interpersonal Skills - Use psychology to engage the buyer
5- Organizational Skills - Act on what the customer is saying
6- Self-Motivation Skills - Passion to craft success
7- Persuasion Skills - Influence customer on buying decision
8- Customer Service Skills - Establish trust with the buyer
9- Integrity - Be fair in dealing with the customers
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