Despite what the veterans will tell you, everyone started out with doubt and concern in their first days in the world of sales
. If you are just getting started, lets hope that you a representing a product or program that you will stand behind. There is no perfect product. Never has been. Never will be. As long as you are willing to set the proper expectations and stand behind your promises, your sales career is already looking fairly good. So lets get started with a few tips to get you started:
1.Always know why: Why do they need the product? Why did they call you back? Why did they continue to talk to you after they knew the price? Spend a few minutes asking the right questions and all of these answers will be available. Just make sure you are listening.
2.Ask great questions: Doing a needs analysis is essential to understanding point number 1 Why? Ask open and closed questions to get better understanding of why you are meeting to discuss this particular product.
3.Talk less than 50% of the meeting: Some meetings require a product overview that puts this ratio at risk right from the beginning. I want to encourage you to find a way to only discuss the details of your product for 15-20 minutes of an hour meeting if you are giving a PowerPoint presentation or demonstration. Take the first few minutes and find out what they want to see in the program 3-4 key items is enough to get started and only show them how you solve those problems.
4.Nice to have or Need to have? It is essential for you to understand the difference in every meeting you conduct. They may buy if they see the product as a nice to have and have disposable income not very likely these days. Understanding what makes them have to have something will take you almost all the way to closing the sale but as I wrote earlier You have to understand the difference before you can determine their position.
5.Setting a timeline: Closing the Sale: If you are successful at steps 1-4 and represent a solid product then closing the sale will naturally fall into place. Discuss the timeline for delivery and confirm with the buyer If they are hesitant, then you have not crossed from Nice to have to Need to have and you may need to start back at Why?
In some ways this is an oversimplified list of the sales process but I guarantee that if you can get comfortable with these tips, you will shorten your sales cycle. One stat is that over 90% of sales presentations end with no close (Asking for the order or setting a timeline) just doing that effectively will put you in the top 10%.