15 Survival Tips For All Salespeople To Read
(Print And Share At Your Next Sales Meeting)
By Glenn Fallavollita, President - Drip Marketing, Inc.
- Word Count: 671
- Time To Read: 2.7 Minutes @ 250 Words Per Minute
Being a salesperson isn’t easy. In fact, it is one of the toughest careers; however, with a little bit of guidance, a salesperson can up his or her game quite easily. That said, here are a few tips to consider.
What Does It Take To Survive As A Salesperson?
#1: Be An Advocate For Your Prospects: More often than not, salespeople who put their customers'/prospects' needs first absolutely crush it. Relationship-minded salespeople understand and relate to their clients and focus on adding value to the relationship.
#2: Become A Great Storyteller: Winning salespeople tell great stories; stories of how their product or service helped other businesses solve a problem(s).
#3: Deliver Every Proposal In Person Or Via Screen Share: When giving a proposal for what you are selling, provide a prospect a minimum of two options either in person or via a screen share program. Do not send a prospect a proposal and wait for their response. By the way, if the person isn’t “engaged in what you are selling,” the odds of them buying from you is relatively slim.
#4: Don’t Be Pushy: Focus on getting to know a prospect’s business. Although a proactive follow-up process is good, and it shows you have an interest in earning their business, don’t make your approach too aggressive as it will do more harm than good.
#5: Get To The Office Early: Arrive early to work as it will allow you to get to know your managers on a more personal level. More importantly, you can get more “dials” before our co-workers get to the office.
#6: Keep Score Of Your Sales Results And Sales Activities: The reality is that you need to track what you are doing on a day-to-day basis. This should include the number of calls you made to your database of prospects, proposals you have sent and closed each week, your proposal close rate, number of NEW appointments you had each week, etc. And once you start keeping score, you will see what is and isn’t working.
#7: Know The Value Of What You Are Selling: If you know the business problems your product or service solves, you can have an immediate impact on a business. This is something decision-makers love to hear from a salesperson.
#8: Plant A Seed Of Doubt: When talking with a prospect who believes they are happy using a competing product or service, ask a few questions that might create doubt in their mind.
#9: Make More Prospecting Phone Calls: If you want to generate more sales, start doubling the number of phone calls you are making to new prospects and past/current customers.
#10: Watch What The Top Selling Salesperson Is Doing: Shadow a top-selling salesperson so you can see firsthand what they are saying and doing.
#11: Smile: People love doing business with people they like and trust. So, when you speak to a prospect, smile as it will convey energy (even when talking on the phone).
#12: Ask Better Business Questions: Sales is more about listening than it is about talking. To help become a better listener, focus on asking questions. Also, you need to take lots of notes as it projects a positive image. When you chat with your waiter or waitress, practice asking them questions.
#13: Your Sales Pipeline Is YOUR Lifeblood: In sales, it is all about what you sold today. After a sale, do your happy dance and get a few high-fives; then go back to building your sales pipeline.
#14: Put Away Your Personal Phone: One of the best pieces of advice is this: Put your damn phone away when working, especially when making calls. It’s a huge distraction, and you know it.
#15: Talk With The Right Prospects: Find prospects who know they have a problem, want to solve their problem, and have the money to solve their problem(s).
Executive Summary: Sales is a tough business. That being said, role play with your sales leader, learn to ask better business questions, shadow the best salesperson in your company, read about closing techniques, time management, and other vital areas. Do this, and you will see a nice upswing in your sales results.
