I think that many people have a real fear of being perceived as a pushy or high pressure sales person. I also think that many people actually hide behind this “fear”, using it as a convenient reason to not participate in sales training or to take any responsibility for sales within an organisation.

I hear the words “I’m not in sales so I don’t need to know about selling” all the time. Well I hate to burst anyone’s bubble, but the reality is that we are all selling something. It might be our products and services, it might be the company we work for, it might just be ourselves in a job interview or it might even be on a date.

Today no one is isolated from selling in some shape or form and it you are employed by a company, you share the responsibility of selling and promoting that business whether you think you do or not.

The simple reality is that we are all sale people so why not be really good at it? In the light of the changing economic climate it is very likely that jobs will start to get a little harder to come by. I have never seen anyone who is great at selling standing in an unemployment line. Likewise businesses that are great at selling (or specifically business owners who are great at selling) tend to survive the tougher times. And used car salespeople in both camps are thin on the ground.

The choice is yours…… 

There is little doubt that the world has got a whole lot more complicated in the last 10-15 years. Doing business has likewise become more complex on just about every  level. There was time that if you had a pie shop, all you needed to do was get up, make pies, sell pies and go home. Today we have to be part marketing guru, part human resources manager, at times a personal coach, sometimes an accountant, or even a lawyer and then we need to be a sales professional. This may sound overly simple but most people I encounter would tend to agree. 

Selling skills have become more important and more relevant today than ever before. We live in a world that is filled with competition. There are so many businesses fighting for the same dollar – competition is here to stay and I think it will only keep increasing.

Many of us find ourselves selling the same products or services. Our businesses can look very similar from the outside in. Customers are much more demanding and educated and we all need a point of difference.

I believe that being able to sell effectively is a fantastic point of difference for any business, simply because sales skills are generally shocking and getting worse.

As customers we are much more informed than ever before. The advent of the internet has put information about anything we can think of (and some things we thankfully could never think of) at our fingertips. As a result, we know we have choice and we are certainly not afraid to use it.

We were all a little nervous the first time we booked a flight online or a hotel room. Not any more – now it is second nature. Imagine how this online world will impact us in a ten years?

 We are living in the era of communication. We talk, we SMS’s, we email, we call, we message, we fax (less but it’s still there) and we spend time in online worlds. We ask our friends for advice when thinking about making a purchase and we look for security from someone who has purchased something similar because we don’t necessarily believe everything we read.

As customers we are demanding in every way. We have got complex, we want more and more and there are so many other businesses fighting for the same customers.

But the upside of this huge  – if you develop a reputation for being able to meet and ideally exceed your customers expectations, they will go out of their way to promote you and your business and you will have a constant stream of new customers heading your way. I have witnessed this happen time and time again.

All too often someone will spend millions of dollars to set up a new business, then they put some poor kid, straight from school, with no sales training behind the counter and expect them to do miracles. I never really understand this.

Surely improving sales skills should be a priority for us all. 

I often get asked what is the best thing to do to make a business more profitable? Most of the time my response is the same – learn how to sell. Sounds obvious doesn’t it? But the reality is that most businesses don’t sell, they simply collect money.

If you can learn how to sell, or if you can improve your sales skills, your business will be one of a very elite few, you will certainly make a lot more money and you will attract many new customers who are looking for skilled sales professionals who can help them to make their purchases.

Selling really isn’t complicated yet there is an almost mythical aura surrounding it and sales people in general. I think we have made something so simple into something so complex and I am not really sure why.

Selling anything is simply a matter of treating your customers with respect, listening to what they want and then making it as easy as possible for them to buy it from you.  

I plan to post a number of ideas in the coming weeks for ways to improve sales in any business. 

How many stalled sales do you have in your sales pipeline right now?

You feel as though you have done everything right. You have connected well with your prospect, they have explained their business and relevant personal issues and you are working directly with the person who has the authority and ability to make the decision. They have given you all the right buying signals but the only problem is you can’t get them to sign on the dotted line and now they aren’t returning your calls.

In order to jumpstart a stalled sale, you must first diagnose the reasons behind it. The problem may not be that the sale stalls, the problem is that we just don’t recognize it soon enough and waste valuable time and resources on dead-end opportunities.

Little connection to a critical business issue
How is your solution addressing a business issue for your customer or prospect? For each opportunity in your sales pipeline answer this question:

Why does your prospect want to buy this product or service?

If you cannot communicate how your solution can

·         Improve revenue, productivity, qualify or efficiency
·         Save time or money
·         Solve a critical problem, challenge or frustration that the business is facing

You can expect your sale to stall. Business owners and Senior Executives only spend time on matters that directly impact their business. If cannot identify a business reason and you want to jumpstart the sale, try to meet with your prospect again to discuss their critical business issues rather than your solutions.

Customers Are Busy
The end of a sale often becomes difficult when your customer or prospect stops returning your calls and emails, overnight. It appears as though they have lost interest and the sale has gone cold….. Or has it?

Many of us find it difficult to get everything done during work day or experience unexpected problems which take our focus elsewhere and your customers are no different. In fact, the better the prospect the busier they are likely to be.

It is important not to panic at this stage and let the customer or prospect fall away or to annoy them with endless phone calls and messages.

Keep momentum by maintaining regular contact, acknowledge your client is busy and perhaps ask them when would be an appropriate day or time for you to call and follow-up.

"I Want to Think it Over"
When a customer says, "I want to think it over," this may not always be the case. Some are actually saying "thanks but not thanks" to avoid a potentially negative and uncomfortable situation and some genuinely do want to think it over or talk to their business partner.  The important thing is to know the difference between the two.

Some people just need a little push and a little help to make the decision. They may find making decisions difficult and are afraid of making the wrong decision. To many, no decision is the best decision.

When the prospect says, "I want to think it over," it is important to acknowledge and respect what the client says. Smile and say "that’s a good idea, this is an important decision and I completely understand your need to think about it" which will help the prospect to relax.

It important now to leave now or you will lose this person as a prospect and being the never-ending game of phone tag and follow-up.

Ask the prospect "Obviously you have a good reason for wanting to think it over. May I ask what the reason is?”

This gives you the opportunity to see how genuine the prospect is and to uncover their real concerns and objections and say “If we could do this, would that solve the problem?

Fear of Rejection
A major obstacle to selling is the fear of rejection or criticism. This fear can jeopardize all your hard work asyour sales simply slip through your fingers and go cold.

Fear of rejection is a geniune emotion that many people in sales experience at one point or another and  can be overcome through practice and by changing your mindset about sales and follow-up. Sales is not about being pushy and arrogant, it is about you communicate your ability to help and solve problems.

Did you know that one of the biggest complaints consumers have about salespeople is that they don’t follow up?

Your customers are busy too, so making a quick courtesy call to see how the decision is progressing may actually be doing them a favour. Who knows, they may have been meaning to call you all along but have simply been too busy.

Article by Karen Andrews, Shine Training
If you or your company is planning a sales meeting this year, then I may be able to help you. I help sales teams pinpoint what they need to do differently to get better results and close more sales. Email me at kandrews@shinesales.com.au or call 02 9437 6500.