Essential Skills for Sales Person
IBC 101 Course (Access to Library and Information System)
Ms. Chalatda Mekwian
Student ID: 50064369
Faculty :
Major : Bachelor of Business Administration in Hotel Management
Acknowledgement
I chose to do the report of ‘Sales Skills’ because I am working as the Sales Executive in Real Estate industry. I have been working and studying at the same time for almost 2 years now.
I often got frustrated for not being able to give both important tasks a full 100%. And now, Arjarn Namtip, the teacher of IBC 101:Access to Library and Information System’ let us do the report of any topics we are interested; I can see that it is a good opportunity to combine these two things in my life; I can produce a report and understand more about Sales Skill.
Thus, I believe this will be beneficial for my career in the long run.
Executive Summary
“Skill is an ability to do something well, especially you have learned and practiced it”.
So what skills are needed to be a successful salesperson? In my experience, I am convinced that techniques and methods of sales are teachable to anyone who has the desire to learn. However, there are a few natural skills that are of great benefit if they already exist within those that want to be successful in sales. Without these, success will take a longer time but it can still be achieved. If there is no desire and dedication to learning or developing these skills, then the selling will be much more difficult and often very stressful.
Table Contents
1. What is ‘Sales’?
2. Effective Communicator
3. Ability to Listen
4. Asks Great Questions
5. Problem Solver
6. Well Organized
7. Self-Starter and Self-Finisher
8. Positive Self Image
9. Well Mannered and Courteous
10. Naturally Persuasive
11. Person of Integrity
1.What is ‘Sales’?
Sales is a profession. It’s far more than just a job. And, as a profession, it provides you the opportunity for significant income and exceptional prestige if you are a top performer. It requires specialized skills and training for superior performance.
Professional selling is all about getting in front of the right people with the right message at the most opportune time. It’s all about how you position yourself and your organization, prospect your business, properly plan your presentation, build trust, and uncover the right set of answers that your prospects are looking for. It’s about how you make your answers or solutions available to your prospects under the conditions and terms that they are most interested in. It’s creating compelling value for your product and maximizing margin. It’s then servicing your new account in order to exceed their expectations, sell them more and use them as referral sources. That’s sales. And it’s that simple. But not so easy. Now we will look into the skills that an effective sales person requires, in order to make the sales career a profession, lucrative and exceptional prestige.
2. Effective Communicator
Communication Skills are essential when you are looking at sales. Essentially, you are looking to make sure that the people around you understand that the product or service that you are supporting and promoting is a good thing. They need to know all the advantages that it has and all the good that it can bring them. Moreover, you will find that when you are looking to sell people something, they need to look into how they are going to be using it. This is something that any good salesperson can do they take any sale, no matter what they are selling and make it personal.
Remember that the old line about a product that is so good that it can sell itself is actually a myth. There are many people out there who think that they would be great salespeople if only they could get the right product, but the truth of the matter is that they need to look a little closer to home. If you want to be a great salesperson, you will find that you need to start with yourself. What are the benefits that you bring to the table and what can you do to make sure that you are going to be able to move forward and to get the right kind of impact that you need? There are far too many people out there who think that they can enter the field without thinking about it and be just fine.
When you are interested in working on your communication skills, you will find that you need to actually use them. Get out there and talk to people and make sure that you read books on the subject as well. People have known for ages that communication skills are extremely important and the more time that you spend looking into them, the better off you are going to be. Take some time and think about where you fall short. Are you someone who can't keep a conversation going? Can you not keep a conversation moving forward? At the end of the day, you will discover that you are looking at something that is essential to your career, so don't miss out.
Take a chance and make sure that you reach out and communicate with the people around you. Communication is part of the job if you are looking into sales, and the more time that you spend sharpening your skills, the better off you will be!
3.Ability to Listen
Along with speaking, a great salesperson knows when to stop talking and listen. They never cut someone off while they are talking, because in doing so they would fail to hear a key element in identifying what that person's needs might be.
1. Know what the client is saying.
The average salesperson listens efficiently only about 25% of the time. When a customer gives details relevant to the sale you’re trying to make, repeat what you’ve heard. Most salespeople have difficulty remembering what the customer said, but many are very good at remembering what they themselves said.
If you summarize what the customer says, the customer feels that you’re listening and you internalize the message. Say something like, “So if I understand you correctly…” This closing recaptures the pre-agreed on points and lets the customer hear you repeat his needs.
2. Understand the difference between hearing and listening.
Hearing is a passive activity -- you’re allowing sound waves to penetrate your ear. In listening, you actively determine meaning to what is heard -- you listen with your eyes and ears. You’re in control when a customer is talking about a problem he or she is encountering and out of control when you’re talking about yourself.
3. Maintain eye contact.
Physically tend to the conversation by providing feedback: lean forward, adjust body posture, nod your head and take notes. These are visual signs that you’re listening. Be sure to make eye contact about 60% of the time. The customer will become more animated and interact more strongly with you. If you look away, it’s a signal of indifference. Looking at the client as he or she speaks says that you care and helps build trust.
4. Don’t allow yourself to become distracted.
Suppose you’ve giving your sales presentation and the buyer gives you feedback on what he or she needs. The problem? He nervously coughs to clear his sinuses ever three minutes. After 30 minutes, you’ve started to anticipate the next cough rather than listen to what he has to say.
The solution? Mentally block out the nuisance behavior and focus on his comments.
5. Unload yesterday’s baggage.
Don’t call on customers while you’re still fuming or reliving distracting moments from the past. Your attention is today, right now, in the present. Otherwise, your customers will be yesterday.
6. Know your client.
Evaluate the customers’ personality profile as you listen and frame the message according to what is likely to make them happy. It’s important to realize that customers are driven by a force that calls for them to listen and respond in a particular way. Your job is to uncover that force.
7. Listen to the customer’s emotions.
Get a clear message of what the customer is trying to tell you. Observe body language, interpret nonverbal signals that give you added insight over and above merely the words used. If they don’t match, the truth is hiding in the nonverbal; the body doesn’t lie.
Verify what you’re hearing. Check to make sure you’re processing the message. Ask, “Why would you say that?”
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Good listeners assume 51% responsibility for the conversation. But what about the talkers? Here are four techniques to heighten your customers’ listening skills.
1. Say something that shows you’re an insider.
Mention an event or talk about a relevant story and ask, “How did that affect you and your business?” Or, say something that is undeniable, but insightful.
2. Speak in logical sequence.
The mind naturally seeks to categorize and visualize as it listens. When you present information randomly, the listener must catalog your comments, then unscramble them to fit in logical brain containers. You begin to sound foggy. It’s difficult to regain a customer’s interest once you’ve stranded him in dense fog.
3. Actively look for the “pain.”
Ask questions that are typical problems of other customers. Once you offer industry-specific wisdom, you customer will listen more openly.
4. Manage interruptions.
If the customer takes phone calls during your presentation, say, “Would it be better if we try this another time?” Is next Tuesday better for your?” Or, “How much time can you give me?” If the answer is ten minutes, remind the person after the time has lapsed. Tell the customer that you appreciate the time, and ask if he would like for you to continue or reschedule another visit.
Summary
Communication is a two-way street. When you're talking you're learning zero. It's only when you're listening that you are learning new information and gaining insight into your customer or prospect.
4. Asks Great Questions
Salespeople are naturally inquisitive and know that in order to isolate what the real need or desire is in the buyer, they need to ask questions that will lead them to the answer. They naturally ask questions because they have a desire to help solve their problem.
According to a recent study by The Sales Career Training Institute, salespeople typically spend too much time pitching and not enough timing asking the right questions so that they can discover their prospects' real objections, as well as the emotional hot buttons they need to press to get their prospects to buy. The study reveals that top salespeople know how to ask the right questions to: (1) get prospects curious; (2) successfully handle sales objections; and (3) lead prospects to close the sale quickly.
- Make your prospect feel like you care. Many people long simply to be heard and understood. By focusing on your prospects and their problems through questions, you will show that you genuinely care about hearing their problems. And you should genuinely care, because you want to find out as much information as you can about their problems, especially how they perceive their problems.
- Use questions to gather information which you can then use to position your product or service more effectively. Too many salespeople assume that they fully understand their prospects' problems. You need to ask questions at the right time about the right things in order to get the information you need to make the sale, or else you might lose credibility and lose the sale forever.
- Ask questions that'll make your prospects aware of the consequences of their actions or inactions. At the end of the day, you will not be able to push your prospects into the sale. This is what most salespeople try to do. We have worked with countless salespeople who think that their product is the answer to their prospect's problem, and they push and push and push to show their prospect that they have the answer. But people resist, especially when you push too hard. That's why you must use questions not only to find out about your prospects' problems but also to make your prospect aware of the consequences of their actions or rather inactions, that is, what could happen to them if they don't buy your product.
- Remember that all questions aren't equal. Some types of questions are more powerful than others. There are two basic types of effective sales questions.
- Trigger Questions. Just like a psychiatrist, your job is to get your prospect to open up and tell you what is on their mind. To do this, you must ask open-ended questions, that is, questions that require them to respond with a relatively complex answer rather than a simple yes or no. Remember, you want to get them talking. Closed questions, which allow your prospect to answer you with a yes or a no, don't get them to open up. Open-ended questions do. There are many types of effective question formats, but when in doubt, rely on the open-ended questions called Trigger Questions. Here are some examples of basic Trigger Questions:
- Can you tell me more about??
- Can you be more specific??
- Can you give me an example??
- Floater Questions. Another type of question allows you to test the waters and determine what your prospect is thinking is the Floater Question. Floater Questions enable you to ask hypothetical what-if questions that may help you to ask what might otherwise be uncomfortable questions to your prospects. Here are some examples of Floater Questions that the top salespeople use:
- I don't know if this is appropriate to ask right now, but what would you say if we made the following offer?? You see, the person isn't making a real offer, s/he is just floating one by the prospect to see the reaction.
- Let's say ____, then what happens next??
- Let's pretend ________ then would you??
- If I could get my colleagues to ..., do you think you could get your colleagues to???
- What would you say if???
- What would you do if???
- Would you buy today if???
Again, what you are doing is feeling your prospect out by putting them in a hypothetical situation. They will give you at least some idea of how much they are willing to spend, or what is important in the negotiation for them, or how close to buying they are.
Tips
- 1) Make it easy for the customer to order.
- 2) If you do not have the product or service the customer needs -- help him or her find that product or service.
- 3) Don't focus on selling: focus on helping the prospect.
- 4) Give the prospect all the information he or she needs.
- 5) A sales program is concerned with three questions you must answer: (a) what are you selling?, (b) who are you going to sell it to? and (c) how are you going to sell it? Answer those and your sales program practically writes itself
- Tips added by Martin Carbone (see how to solve problems)
5. Problem Solver
Another natural skill is the desire and ability to solve problems. Great salespeople are always solving problems. The ability to hone in on what the buyer's problem is and offering suggestions that will effectively solve the problem with respect to what products or services you sell, generally results with a sale.
6. Well Organized
I am not necessarily speaking of your personal surroundings, but more with your thoughts and methods of planning. Sales people have a keen ability to break things down into smaller steps and organize a plan of action. They know how to analyze what their goal is and in what order the steps need to be in in order to reach that goal.
7. Self-Starter and Self-Finisher
A successful sales person moves forward on their own. They never need anyone to tell them when it is time to go to work because they know that if they do not work they will not earn. They are also very persistent to finish what they start. They achieve their goals, even if they are small ones.
8. Positive Self Image
Having the attitude that they can do just about anything that they put their mind to is usually very common among sales people. They do not cower from meeting or talking to people or trying something new. They rarely allow negatives that are either spoken to them or about them to effect what they are trying to accomplish because they know who they are and what they are capable of doing.
Why Your Self-Image is a Key Part of Your Personality
Your self-image is the way you see yourself and think about yourself. It is often called your "inner mirror." You look into this mirror in every situation to see how you should perform on the outside. You always behave on the outside in a manner consistent with the picture you have of yourself on the inside.
How Do You See Yourself
For example, if you see yourself, as calm, confident and competent in any aspect of selling, when you are engaged in that activity, you will feel calm, confident and competent. You will be positive and happy. You will perform well and get excellent results. If, for any reason, it doesn’t go well at that time, you will throw it off and dismiss it as a temporary situation. Your self-image is clear. In your mind’s eye you see yourself as good and capable in that area, and nothing can interfere with your mental picture.
Change Your Self-Image
The most rapid improvements in sales results come from changing your self-image. The moment that you see yourself differently, you behave differently as well. And because you are behaving differently, you get different results.
9. Well Mannered and Courteous
The best sales people are very well mannered. You may not realize it, but good manners is a way of showing respect for others. People are attracted to those that respect them and mutual respect is fundamental in building lasting relationships with people..including buyers.
You should obviously have people skills because you will be interacting with people constantly, whether you have a fixed time job or a flexi time one, whether you work at a shop or a restaurant or at a business. It is extremely important that you should be pleasant and well-mannered even when dealing with rude and demanding customers and be able to conclude a sale. So you need to have a great deal of patience.
This quality comes in use when there are lean times or you have to wait for customers or wait on them. Understanding the needs and requirements of your customers is an important part of a salesperson’s skills. It is only when you are able to do this will you be able to make a sale.
10. Naturally Persuasive
Another very common inherent skill with great salespeople is that they are very persuasive or know how to get what they want. They focus on what they want and they are persistent to keep chipping away until they get what they want. They almost never give up or give in.
11. Person of Integrity
A salesperson without integrity will have many struggles which will often include hopping from job to job. Honesty in sales is so important and it is almost impossible for this skill to be taught. You or the person you are looking to hire is either a person of integrity or are not. Be as analytical as possible on the evaluation of this skill.
When it comes to determining whom they will do business with, customers rank the honesty of a salesperson as the most important single quality. Even if a they feel that a salesperson’s product, quality and price is superior, customers will not buy from that salesperson if they feel that he or she is lacking in honesty and character.
Likewise, integrity is the number one quality of leadership. Integrity in leadership is expressed in terms of constancy and consistency. It is manifested in an absolute devotion to keeping one’s word. The glue that holds all relationships together-including the relationship between the leader and the led-is trust, and trust is based on integrity.
Integrity is so important that functioning in our society would be impossible without it. We could not make even a simple purchase without a high level of confidence that the price was honest and that the change was correct. The most successful individuals and companies in
References:
Johnson, E. Basic sales skills. Retrieved October 25,2009 from http://sales.about.com/od/hiringsalespeople/tp/basicsalesskills.htm
Lee, B. How Salespeople Can Improve Their Listening Skills. Retrieved October 25,2009 from http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Salespeople-Can-Improve-Their-Listening-Skills&id=274177
How to sell more effectively by asking the right questions. Retrieved October 25,2009 from http://www.wikihow.com/Sell-More-Effectively-by-Asking-the-Right-Questions
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