5 Habits of a Successful Salesperson
Sales is one of the few careers with virtually no ceiling on earning potential. And most who find success in the field never leave. This is probably because even aside from the great salary, sales also offers flexibility, a sense of accomplishment, and more job security than most. But not everyone finds success in this career. And it’s not usually because they couldn’t learn the trade. It’s usually because they’re not equipped with the tools that could make them great. And the only real way to become a success is by developing some of the habits of the most successful salespeople in the world.
Believe in your product
It’s difficult to sell what you don’t know about. How can you convince someone they need your product if you can’t answer all the difficult questions about it? Buyers can sniff out a fake a mile away. There’s too much information available online today to be able to pretend to know something you don’t.
But more importantly, believe in what you’re selling. Infamous sales guru Zig Ziglar said you should “have an absolute and total belief that what you’re selling is worth more than the price you ask for it. Your belief in your product should be so great that you ought to be using it.” if you can’t get behind your product in that way, perhaps you’re selling the wrong one.
Follow up
Follow up but know when to give up. Prospects may need some time to think about the purchase, so following up the next day is a good idea. If you don’t hear back, you might even follow up a second time with more information. But don’t be that annoying salesperson that won’t leave them alone and makes them feel pressured. If they do eventually decide to make the purchase, you can bet he won’t be the one they want to deal with.
Use emotion and logic
Another great piece of advice from Zig Ziglar is to use both logic and emotion in your sales pitch. This is because you appeal to their minds with logic, but their emotions are what they act on. He said you need to balance these two tactics out.
For example, let’s say you’re a salesperson at a car dealership in Washington, PA. You might first appeal to a prospect by telling them how much money they will save in fuel on the new car. And then you can talk about the memories their family will have in it. Your buyers need to be emotionally moved to make the purchase, but also feel they have spent their money wisely even after the emotions fade.
Practice active listening
There’s not much that’s more frustrating to a customer than trying to talk to a salesperson who is clearly not listening. They make their agenda known, but don’t seem to care what the customer really wants. This skill will help you build trust and likability with your customers, not to mention loyalty. For instance, let’s apply this to selling products at a window treatment and flooring store in Morristown, NJ. If you don’t intently listen to your customer, you might miss the fact that they hate hardwood floors and take them straight to that very section. It may be a popular choice and you might get a bonus commission for selling it. But you may have lost a customer completely by not listening.
Always be selling
The somewhat official phrase for this in the retail industry is “always be closing” (ABC). It’s just a reminder that you should always keep your eye out for new prospects. And you should always be pitching your product. For this strategy to work without alienating friends, however, you must apply the other principles. You must believe in what you’re selling and listen actively.
