Selling is as old as Homo Sapiens, whether it's in the form of trading, bartering or exchanging services. Regardless, sellers lack the skills or training they need.
The most effective sales techniques we teach at business to business sales training salt lake city revolve around listening skills. If you are always going on and on, how do you expect to win your potential client over? If you just brag about the benefits of what you're selling without knowing whether the client even needs them, of course you will fail.
You are the most interesting topic you ever talk about, and its true for others too: your sales targets like to talk about their own needs and wants. Use the following list of techniques to boost your own sales strategies or to share with your coworkers or the salespeople you manage.
Before we begin, however, let's talk about the pre-listening groundwork. You need to know your customers and find out how they feel about products like yours. Do they know they need them? Do they have a problem you can solve in a new way?
Now it's time to begin listening to your clients. Keep these professional sales tips in mind:
- Learn what your clients need. If they are happy with their own answers to the problem you think you know the answer to, find out why. If they aren't, find out what else they need. If they are only interested in some parts of your products, understand that as well. In reality, selling is a one-on-one proposition. Anyone who doesn't feel understood, will probably not continue talking with you.
- Use your own language to rephrase what they say. Known as reflective listening, this skill lets the customer know you are truly hearing them, that you are concerned about it and are thinking about it, and that you are clear on the facts. Furthermore, this technique clarifies their expectations.
- Sales are about emotions, in the end.Your explanations have their place, but making sales is truly about whether your prospect likes you and has trust in you and what you're selling. Pay attention to signs of stress, worry and fatigue, as these are negatives you could perhaps solve. You will also want to listen for pleasant emotions such as excitement, because this can help you understand your prospect's motivations.
- Know their motivations. In addition to hearing what the client says he or she needs, find out what the real underlying motivations are. Usually, this means lower costs but it can also mean something like improving efficiency, reducing worry and more.
- Don't be demanding. No one likes to be bossed around, but salespeople often end up doing this when they just go over their presentations without listening. A better way is to talk about the benefits of your service or product and listen while the prospect speaks, coming to believe that, in the process, your solution is the best one. You can guide the conversation along, but stop there or you could lose it all.
- Stop talking! Don't be uncomfortable with a few moments of silence, and try not to repeat your presentation or any part of it unless you're 100 percent confident the client doesn't yet understand. It's an insult to their intelligence! Moreover,you wouldn't want to put a client to sleep -- instead, you want them to feel special and important to you.
- You and your product are not as great as you think you are, at least not to people who aren't familiar with what you have to offer. Give your ego a break and realize that you can rarely know how anyone else is feeling and what they want without listening to them. Ask clarifying questions often, and remember that selling isn't about anything more than fostering relationships. If you really want to sell, try getting out of the way more often.
These sales techniques might not be comfortable, but if you just give them a chance you will see that they are very effective. Realize that most would-be sellers just rush through with their pre-written speeches, not considering their prospects' ideas at all. These salespeople fail. Join the ranks of success by shutting your mouth and proving that you care.