Selling Skills
Productive sales conversations are the most important asset any sales rep owns.
Person-to-person sales conversations have not been replaced by software, technology, or “scripts.” They are more important than ever. Why? The volumes of information and choices for buying products and services has complicated buyer’s decision making. These buyers need professional sales pros who engage with them in a two-way conversation to guide and help them cut out the data and detail bogging down their confidence in making a decision.
To win with your sales conversations, skip the product pitch and focus all you say and do on them, the buyer. A focus on “What’s in it for Them” from the start to the end of the conversation allows the buyer to work through their buying process, which will always trump selling process. Tweet this.
The key to successful selling is to adjust your selling process and conversation to help the buyer through their buying process.
How?
- Ask prepared insightful questions followed by powerful paraphrasing and follow-up questions to clarify and confirm what they already know, use, and care about.
- Listen (research shows the talk/listen ratio of 47/53 is ideal!) and understand their “story” to earn the right to share additional information.
- Connect your product or service to their identified problem, opportunity, want, or need. It’ll take some work but it guarantees they make the connection.
- Extract concerns or objections and work through them as a problem solver. No time to “handle” or “overcome” them, ask for clarity about the concern and discuss options, not discounts or concessions.
- End every conversation with a specific “ask” for commitment or decision to what comes next. Make it easy for them to see what comes next and make that confident decision.
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