Follow these twelve steps to become an excellent salesman.
From the sea of inexperienced recent college graduates with a business degree to those born into the hustle and bustle of a family of used car salesmen, learning the tricks of the trade is a pre-requisite to establishing oneself as truly successful salesman. Blitz is here to teach you how to navigate your way through the sales process from your first interaction with the client all the way to successfully lead tracking.
1. Know Your Product.
Know your product from front to back. Know everything about your product. Have an answer prepared for any off-the-wall question that you could be asked. Would you rather make a purchase from someone who is able to rattle off every little minute detail about their product or someone who has to reference a manual to give you an answer? The answer is obvious. Complete knowledge of a product shows experience and reliability.
2. If you are meeting a client in person, be well-groomed, well-dressed, and don’t have bad breath.
First impressions are crucial. Look the part. Causing a potential client to turn away based solely on things that you can control is not a good start.
If these two were both trying to sell you the same lead management program, who would you buy it from? One choice clearly has horrible breath. The other choice looks pretty trustworthy and very capable of managing sales leads.
3. Treat your client like a human being, not a dollar sign.
You should genuinely care about your client’s best interests. Developing a relationship with each client will lead to them being satisfied with your product and contacting you for future needs as well. Whether you are a big business executive dealing with other big businesses, a plumber, or a home remodeler, if you take the time get to know your client and their preferences, they will remember how well you treated and served them and refer you to people they know searching for the service you offer.
4. Listen.
Always listen to what your client wants. Whether you’re having a conversation with a friend or in a potential business transaction, it is basic human nature to prefer having an interaction with a person who listens to you.
5. Ask direct questions.
Do not ask “Yes” or “No” questions, these will not give you sufficient information to determine the best course of action for each individual client. Asking the right questions will allow you discover and solve any potential problems before they actually happen.
6. Suggest, don’t force.
This goes hand in hand with listening. If you listen to what they want, you can make a suggestion that best meets their needs. If you walk into a store looking to purchase a suit, a pushy salesman who walks up to you with a new suit every 30 seconds saying, “Here, put this on!” is very off-putting. However, if you are greeted with, “Hello, let me know if there’s anything I can help you with or if you need any measurements done,” you are more likely to stay and look around. You have to give your client a chance to learn a little bit about your product before they make a selection. Depending on the line of business, you have to determine if it is best for you to teach them or if they want to teach themselves. Human beings have free will and they don’t like when that free will is compromised.
7. Make sure that decision makers are present.
Decision makers for a company often send their subordinates to scope out a product and relay the information back to them. These people do not always have permission to make financial decisions. Make sure to get the actual decision maker involved in the sales process as soon as possible.
8. Be tenacious.
Don’t overdo it. You have to know when to chalk one up as a loss, but if you have listened to what the client wants and know your product, you’ll be able to suggest an option or alternative to any problem that may arise.
9. Be honest.
Don’t lie to a client. Lying results in failure to deliver and a bad reputation leading to negative reviews. If you have suggested everything that you have to offer and you know that you cannot meet your client’s needs, tell them. If you have been in the business long enough, you likely have a network of resources. Refer them to somebody in your network and the favor will likely be returned one day.
10. Stay engaged, even after your first interaction is over.
Once again, don’t force things, but close the deal as soon as possible. The more time that passes, the less likely they are to buy from you. Stay on top of leads and keep a speedy response time. A lead management program can schedule meetings for you, set reminders, and even send e-mail to prospective clients.
11. Deliver.
When you make a promise to a client, keep it. If you tell them something will be done by a certain time, make sure that it is done by that time.
12. Follow up.
It is imperative that you follow up with clients both during and after the sales process. Investing in the right Lead Management Software will help you with this and can pay huge dividends. After you have made the sale, a follow up call to see how they like your product and if they have any questions will show them that you care about delivering a quality product.