March 22, 2018
Selling products is not just about pushing the product down the customer's throat and seeing if they will buy it. A great salesperson knows that you must create a relationship to truly sell a product to the customer. Creating a relationship with the customers ensures that a company, brand, or product not only has sales but also has a future. This has been proven by the Harvard Business Review1 which began a study 35 years ago that began studying what makes a great salesman. The combination of skills needed to be a great salesman is so extensive, that the same studies are still being conducted today.
Many of the traits of a great salesman are also things that you may not even think of a salesman having to be good at. This is conveniently pointed out by Forbes' magazine's article2 titled "The Unexpected Secret To Being a Great Salesman". While there is not just any one "secret" to being a great salesman, it all starts with building that relationship with the customer, which creates a future for a company, brand, or product.. Building the essential relationships with customers will help do more than just sell them a product, it will help create a following that will last a business, brand, or product for a lifetime.
The following are 7 top things that every salesperson needs to know to be successful as they can at building that relationship and not only selling the product, but the entire idea behind it as well:
- Focus on the Relationship Not Just The Sale: Sure a sale will bring a company money in the immediate future. However, salespeople who focus on building long-term relationships with their clients are able to build relationships that last well into the future. Those who focus on becoming a resource for their clients are the ones who will have a longer future in the business, and they won't just make a sale but a fortune in doing so!
- People Will Buy When They Are Ready Not When You Want To Make A Sale: Customers will come and buy when the time is right for them. A great salesperson understands that customers will buy product on their own schedule, not when you want to make a sale or when it's convenient for you to sell to them. No low prices or special deals are going to convince a buyer on a budget otherwise. If the money is not there at that moment they will be waiting until they can afford the product to buy it.
- Work Hard To Keep Business As You Did To Get It: A great salesperson knows that they will have to work just as hard to keep business as they did to get it. Building rapport with customers and being someone they believe they can trust will help you keep business long after the initial sale is complete. It will also get customers to refer other potential clients to you as well, which helps grow and expand your business through a customer base that continually grows. Be honest and have integrity when doing any business transaction and you will find yourself with many more loyal customers moving into the future.
- Learn To Manage Your Time & Territory Effectively: Learning how to use your time effectively and making every minute you are on the job count to it's fullest. Improving how you use your time will help boost your sales and make your work hours more productive than they are currently. Track your time to see how you spend it. How much time do you spend researching information for clients versus finding new clients versus time spent in sales meetings pitching your products. Tracking this time can help you gauge how much time you spend with each customer and your return for doing so.
- Close The Sale Soon As The Client Sees Their Options: Many clients hate making final purchase decisions. They will oftentimes "think" about things for far longer than any salesman cares to wait. When your client sees their options, you can start asking questions in a positive tone as if they have already bought the product. Questions like, "Which color do you prefer this in, red or green?" or "How many of these would you like me to write up your order for?" Pushing the point will make the client make a decision faster, close the deal for you, and help you turn more sales.
- Refuse To Give Up Control of the Sales Process: Refuse to give the client control of the sales deal. Giving them control takes that control away from you. When you are not in control you cannot dictate how sales go as you would if you were in control. Remember when it comes to integral parts of the sale such as quoting prices, providing quality information on your product/services, etc. you are in the driver's seat. Don't let anyone take that process away from you. You start in control and must stay that way.
- Never Lose Your Passion to Sell: You have to love the art of the deal and you have to want to make good, quality deals to do the best possible deal in the situation. Passion can make up for a lack of experience or a lack of knowledge of past sales. Simply loving what you do will show in your work and you will be able to sell your product just through your love of doing it.
These are just a few great tips to help you become a better salesperson. Approaching the art the proper way is the difference between just making a sale and creating a relationship with a customer that will allow you to turn your work with your clients into an ongoing relationship, which can give your company and business a future.
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1. https://hbr.org/2006/07/what-makes-a-good-salesman
2. https://www.forbes.com/sites/adp/2018/02/26/5-ways-to-keep-employees-engaged-and-why-you-should-use-them/#439b8a5c7ad0