October Sales Tip

Greetings Sales Pros!

Is a salesperson born or can they be made?  Or, is selling natural or can it be taught?  We're often asked these questions during our seminars which leads to in-depth discussions.  In our opinion, a successful Sales Professional is 20% natural and 80% taught.  Let's examine those sales success factors that help sellers to consistently meet their company's performance goals, their personal financial goals and the buyer's/customer's expectations.

  

The 20% Factors - Born To Sell -  The natural factors are internal to the seller and many say they are born with these traits.  Although great sellers tend to have these traits, there are thousands of good sellers that lack some of these personal traits.  The point is that sellers with natural ability should build on those strengths and continue to develop the 80% factors that can make them exceptional.

  

1. The Perspective:

- A healthy attitude about yourself, selling, the industry, your company, the marketplace, the buyers and your customers. 

 - A solid commitment to your company's philosophies, goals, objectives, standards and selling plans and strategies.

    

2. The Confidence:

- The deep-seated self-confidence and belief that you can consistently perform to personal, company and customer expectations.

- The courage to consistently monitor your effectiveness.

- The wisdom to grow and evolve with the marketplace and the buyers.

  

3. The Desire:

- A clear understanding of your motivation for a sales career.

- A well-defined set of personal goals and performance objectives.

- A clearly defined set of selling standards and compromises.

 4. The Presence:

- A professional selling appearance.

- An effective selling style (manipulative or non-manipulative).

- A versatile (flexible) selling personality (work with a broad spectrum of buyer personality profiles).

5. The Principles:

- A fundamental values system, solid set of moral standards and honest business ethics. 

The 80% Factors - Learn To Sell -  A majority of a seller's success can be learned through effective profiling, hiring, orientation and initial training.  These external factors are typically behaviors, skills and strategies that can be developed through continued education, periodic training and personal seller motivation to grow and improve.  Sellers that may not have some of the natural traits defined on the previous page can truly become effective Sales Professionals through a lifetime of personal development and career training.

  

1. The Work Ethic:

 - Self-motivation and a strong work ethic.

 - Self-discipline, personal organization and effective time management.

 - Set and sustain effective work priorities.

   

2. The Knowledge: A thorough understanding of the buyer and what you are selling:

- The industry.

- Your targeted marketplace.

- Basic business and general finance.

- Sales and selling.

- Your offerings (products and services).

- Applications and benefits.

- Components (hardware) and capabilities (features).

- Your company.

- The prospect and buyer profiles.

- The manufacturer (supplier).

- The competition.

- Pricing and configuration.

- Presentation and demonstration.

  

3. The Process:

- The Sales Action Plan (the steps in the selling process).

- The steps in the buying process.

  

4. The Skills (Strategies):

- The strategic or universal selling skills required to effectively execute each step in the selling cycle (buying process).

- The tactical or targeted selling skills to be utilized in isolated selling situations.

- Communication and personal relationship skills.

- Through learned or acquired skills and captured experiences.

5. The Resources:

- Seller-oriented selling tools that help the seller to execute the plan.

- Buyer-oriented sales aids that help the seller to carry the selling messages to the buyer.

- The selling arena and facilities.

- Company resources and support.

6. The Leadership:

- A confidence and commitment in the company's leadership.

- A clear understanding of your role (job description) and management's expectations.

- Solid business, marketing and sales plans and strategies to support your sales effort.

As you can see, the emphasis for all sales development is in these 80% sales success factors.  Considering all of these factors, the number-one sales attribute or trait that creates our sales success is our own self-development throughout our sales career.  Never stop learning about our sales profession, especially now during these interesting and challenging times we live in.  Sales leaders, use these factors to jump start your sales team and identify the areas of training that can impact your sales performance.  It's never too late to create the mind set of going from traditional, seller-perspective selling to the next generation buyer-perspective selling.  Give us a call and we'll share our ideas of how we're helping other sales teams to increase revenue, margin and market share.  Indeed, it's exciting times for all Sales Professionals today!

Good Luck and Good Selling,

Bob Butler, TSP

and the Butler Learning Systems T.E.A.M.

Together Each Achieves More