Whether you are a seasoned Professional sales person or a rookie, trying to find your way around this industry, sales training should be an integral part of your career. As with any other profession, to get better, you must constantly be learning new and better ways to succeed.
However, there are different challenges to be considered in the selling profession. As you do some research you may find hundreds of people that claim they can improve your sales performance… For a price, of course. A major problem exists because there are many people that will tell you what you need to do to be a success, but few that are willing to actually teach you how to get better.
Considering this, it is imperative that you are as well prepared as you can be, heading out, to go to work. Every piece of the sales presentation is a step. Not just the selling part! First of all, there are specific techniques to use to befriend the proverbial gatekeeper. By not getting past this intentional blocker, you will not get many sales. So, setting appointments is crucial to your success.
What do you do if you meet with the decision maker? Have you prepared? Do you know what his and your competition is doing in the market? How much time do you have and knowing that in advance, have you prepared your presentation to work within those guidelines? Understand that the buyer sees bad sales people all day, every day. When you walk in, their first thought is already tainted. Your preparation will make you the sale more often than the presentation itself. That seems important, does it not?
Are you proficient in maximizing buying signals or do you just throw up on a prospect until they cave in and give you an order? Selling is supposed to be interactive. You have 2 ears and 1 mouth, which means that you should listen twice as much as you speak! You will find many more ways to sell your potential customer if you just listen. It is necessary to be passively aggressive with most decision makers and if you are not prepared to do that, you are not leaving with an order. The same applies to your regular customers. Stopping in to see them, other than to kill time, do you have a plan to sell them something? If not, you should.
When you do have sales training, put your time into it. You can teach an old dog new tricks! Mostly because the old ways of selling have evolved. Your customer wants you to have an interactive interest in their success. When you are not prepared to do this, they can tell and again, no sale.
Learn various closing techniques. There are thousands and in certain instances, any one will work. Throughout your presentation, you should be using trial closes to see where you stand. Asking questions will help you with this. The sales process is just that, a process. Take it one step at a time and there will be improvement. If there is no plan or preparation, your success ratio will dramatically drop.
Sales Training should be ongoing. There are some great sales books and you should read them. Most are simply written and contain some great tips and tricks, so read them often and over again. Your improvement has more impact on your finances than with most other professions, and those who maximize every selling opportunity are the ones that are always winning the awards that you think you deserve! So, work hard and get better.