Tips For Those Entering a New Sales Role

June 20th, 2016 Business Careers

The world is constantly changing. This can be said of technology, business practices, and a whole range of other things. Strangely, people remain the same. And understanding the fundamentals of how people react and approach situations will help to push you towards the upper echelon of sales professionals.

We’ve put together some valuable advice from some of the top people in this competitive industry. While it’s important to internalise the rules and relations at your individual position, there are a few things that can be easily passed on to you to improve your performance.

Be confident

This is the byline to every successful sale ever, every successful person who ever made it to the top, and every sales pitch that has ever succeeded. Here, let’s say it again – confidence sells.

Overcoming a lack of confidence can be achieved through a double pronged approach:

• The first aspect is to gain exposure regularly – pushing yourself to get out in the open, socialise and meet new people on the job will give you experience.
• The second way to achieve it is to identify, observe and recognise the habits of people who are confident, especially in the field of sales. Apply their mannerisms when you yourself go out there to talk to people.

Potential clients and business veterans can easily sense shakiness and jitters, and they may then assume that you doubt the product. Why should they believe in a product or service that you don’t believe in? So once again, confidence sells you and the goods you represent.

Here’s the science behind why confidence works

There’s a term in psychology called the Dominant Response.

Confident people do well because they approach a high pressure situation and create a sense of control that results in people gravitating towards them.

This means that someone who isn’t confident – and is expecting to fail – will do even worse than usual when confronted by a situation, because they have already placed themselves in ‘fail mode’. Someone who has the experience and confidence under their belt will do better in a high pressure situation, because they know they can do it.

Keep your head up, and remember that you’re capable of doing the job at hand. Build confidence for yourself, fake it until you make it, and keep working on your skills.

Perception is key

Become a master of body language and hidden meanings.

People use a variety of sentences to mean different things. Picking up on exactly what someone means, rather than what they say, is the easiest way to successfully sell to them. Likewise, someone saying one thing might be using their physicality and body to say something completely different.

Here’s an example:

If someone’s telling you that they are heading to an ATM to get some money for your product, but they’ve already started walking towards the door, they’re most likely not going to return.

Time is even more important

Whether you’re face-to-face or on the phone, budgeting your time is critical. Taking too long on a deal will kill it stone dead, but rushing in won’t get you any more success.

Over time, you’ll learn a measured approach. Not too fast to scare someone off from committing, but not so slow that they’ll start second guessing their own purchase. It depends on the product, obviously, but you should set yourself a general budget for time, and learn how long an average sell should be.

Be human

Salesperson is the job title, but the nature of the job is to communicate. By that, we mean the boring, flat seller with no character, who never bothers to form a personal bond or deviate from their script, inspires nobody.

People are much more likely to buy from personable people. Inquire about a person, and form a profile of each individual customer. Don’t straight-out ask them for their life story, but by forming an emotional bond you’ll not only get their instinctual salesperson guard down, but also be able to cater more strongly to their needs.

Here’s how you do it:

• Introduce yourself as an individual ambassador of your brand.
• Ask relevant questions.
• Don’t pry – a customer that isn’t saying much probably wants to stay focused on the object, don’t try to get them to open up more than they’re comfortable with.
• Get them to elaborate on points on both a personal and business level. If they mention that they to want to take along a present for a boyfriend/girlfriend who’s out of state, ask them where they live. If they’re shopping for shoes for their father-in-law, ask them what kind he currently wears.
• Use umbrella questions – Umbrella questions are those designed to get a customer talking, giving you more information to work with, getting them to tell you what they really mean, and helping them feel more at ease. They’re basically open-ended requests for more information.

  A few include:

1. • “Could you explain that a bit further”?
   • “Tell me a bit more”.
   • “What do you mainly use [our product] for?”
   • “Do you have any other examples to use?”

Get people to open up, and a sale will soon follow.

In order to ensure that you have the right skills necessary to take on a sales role, it’s important to have the right qualifications. Contact ICI today to find out how our Executive Diploma of Sales can help you launch your career into the world of sales, and start your exciting new career in the business world.

by Gladys Mae

Gladys Mae serves as the General Manager and Head of Student Services at the International Career Institute. Gladys holds a degree in Mass Communication - Broadcast Media from the University of San Jose-Recoletos. She joined ICI in 2010 and has over the past 12 years been instrumental in providing leadership and guidance to staff and students alike. Prior to joining ICI Gladys led a multifaceted career with key roles in the banking and business process outsourcing industries.