Tuesday, March 01, 2005

"10 Immutable Laws Of Successful Selling"

- by Laurence Winmill

(c) Laurence Winmill. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.BookShaker.com



How would you describe yourself as a Salesperson?

Talkative, Caring, Outgoing, Confident?

Perhaps you regard yourself as a Trained Professional, or a Self Taught Enthusiast or perhaps you simply believe you were born with a Natural Gift. Whatever you believe there are certain characteristics and disciplines that you must display with consistency if you are to become truly Successful as a Professional Salesperson.

Here are ten laws...

1. Customer Focused - People do business with people they like and trust. In order to gain respect and trust you have to build rapport with your customers. You must listen to their "Wants" and then give them what they "Need" and then under promise and over deliver, exceeding expectations at every given opportunity.

2. Attitude - It's Attitude that makes the absolute difference. It is your number one differentiator, the quality that separates you from the rest. Attitude is the small word that makes the big difference and sets apart the Winners from the Losers.

3. Communication Skills - Train yourself to become a Great Listener. It's the exceptional listener that identifies Customer's Needs and Wants and then talks passionately about his or hers products and services in relation to those Needs.

4. Empathy & Drive - You must have both these qualities if you are serious about Selling. You have to be able to put yourself in the Customers situation and understand how you would be thinking and feeling if you were them. But this alone is not enough; you must also have an in built desire to succeed at every opportunity. You are passionate about Selling and your desire for success pushes you above and beyond ordinary results. You simply want to be recognised as "One of the Best at what you do".

5. First Impressions - You get one opportunity to make a good impression. The first 10 seconds are critical. Voice, Appearance, Presentation, Body Language and Words all crammed into a 10 second introduction. Make sure yours makes a lasting impression.

6. Two Way Communication - The key to two way communication is the ability to ask the right type of questions, which build rapport whilst encouraging the Customer to talk about their "Wants" and more importantly their "Needs". You skilfully steer the conversation, probing the answers until you are certain that a " Need" has been identified.

7. Organisational Skills - Good Sales Professionals have to be organised. They know the importance of Business Planning, Territory Management, Customer Prospecting and Profiling.
They also understand that organisation is the key to building a better business, because they always find time to exceed their Customers Expectation Levels.

8. Objective Learning - Focus on learning how to get better at what you do. Read books, watch videos, network and use your brain's full potential. Push yourself to new limits.
Attend training sessions, join professional selling organisations and seek qualifications in subjects relevant to what you do. Become recognised as a Sales Professional and fulfil your true potential.

9. Work Life Balance - Find time for family and friends.
Have an interest outside of work and spend quality time with those closest to you. Never lose sight of your roots, show real interest in those around you and apply the same desire for success in this area as you do in your professional life.

10. Goals - Set yourself targets - Set them daily, weekly, monthly, annually, for life and review regularly. "A person going nowhere always get there", so avoid being this person by mapping out some realistic targets and goals. The key word is realistic because when you get use to achieving targets and goals, you'll effectively create a habit that will be difficult to break - and more importantly it's a habit you will not want to break!

So there you have it, ten simple but highly effective disciplines for "Better Results In Any Selling Environment".

Good luck and make your start today!

=======================================
Who else wants to boost their personal
influence? Laurence Winmill makes
selling and influence easier - quicker.
Buy his books at http://www.BookShaker.com
=======================================