There have been countless articles on sales and how to sell. The emphasis has been more on meeting individual goals and always being on the go.
A sale is not a single transaction made by a single person as is generally perceived. It is a strategic process that is supported by all team members. Apart from the seller’s effort, it also involves:
I) Effort of the technical team – to make the quality of the product/service marketable.
ii) Effort of the marketing team – to correctly position the product/service for the customer.
iii) Effort on the part of the finance team – to price the product/service correctly for the client.
iv) Service team effort – to ensure customer support is maintained etc.
There are multiple factors that contribute to closing a successful sale. However, I think the two biggest contributors are quality and knowledge:
i)Quality:
A seller can only sell through two aspects of quality:
a) the quality of its product or service and
b) the quality of the overall customer sales experience.
ii) Knowledge:
A sale is closed based on the knowledge of the seller:
a) knowledge of the product/service you are selling
b) knowledge of the industry in which it operates, especially its competition
c) knowledge of the client, putting oneself in the client’s place
d) knowledge of their own knowledge, their limitations and strengths
The best sales presentation is the one you never have to give to the customer.
This is where your creativity, strategies, relationships, quality, pretty much everything, comes into play. You are successful when you sell without having to go through the rigors of selling.
Work on the ‘Channeling Process’ and shoot from a position of strength.
The best show of strength is listening and listening carefully. Most salespeople don’t listen because they are busy selling their products to the customer. That’s where they fail. The idea is not to force a sale on the customer, but to let the customer buy from you.
The other very important point is to learn from lost sales. In fact, the day you lose a deal should be the best (not the worst) day, as you may not make some money, but you do learn some invaluable wisdom on what not to do. This will give you more returns in the future.
