How we change what others think, feel, believe and do |
Selling Tips and Techniques to Increase Your Sales Performance
Guest articles > Selling Tips and Techniques to Increase Your Sales Performance
by: Steve Eungblut
Why can the really top sales people earn so much and look so relaxed? Well, it’s because they get great results, get great rewards, develop great lasting relationships with their clients, are respected in their own industry, and have skills that are transferrable across multiple industries. Traditionally, great Key Account Managers were considered to be great ‘relationship farmers’ who could develop a strong commercial relationship with one (or a few) complex ‘key account(s)’. Meanwhile, ‘new business sales people’ have traditionally been considered to be ‘sales hunters’ who grow the business fast but won’t typically nurture the longer term client relationship during the sales process…. If you ask a hunter to tend to crops, he or she will simply get bored and look for something to shoot – they may even take a few shots at the crops! Today’s business-savvy buyers AND employers expect their top sales people to be a hybrid hunter/farmer. What makes a great sales person? Well the answer is: insight; skills; attitude & behaviour; and application! Let’s look at each of these in turn. Developing Your InsightBy insight we mean that a great sales person has insight into their target customers and the industry as a whole: Believe it or not this can be gained very quickly and to a level that makes you better than 90% of other sales people out there. Most sales people absorb insight over a period of years as a whole heap of facts that eventually through experience and many hundreds of discussions makes them ‘insightful’ or ‘wise’. However, you simply have to do some research into the client and industry in terms of:
Once you know the top 3-5 factors in each of the above categories, you can hold a great sales conversation with any decision maker and can start to develop a consultative sale… and you’ll be better than 90% of your competitors! Developing Your Skills & TechniquesTo be a great sales person you have to become a hybrid of a ‘key account manager’ and a ‘new business development specialist’ by developing the following skills:
Again, all of these are easy much easier to develop than you might think and you can get there. Getting the Right Attitude & BehaviourAttitude is the perspective that the sales person has about the world and him/herself; while behaviour is how he/or she acts. Of course, attitude (and skill) will determine the sales person’s behaviour. To be a great sales person you need to use the right attitudes and behaviours together:
Again, all of these are much easier to develop than you might think. This is about personal leadership and mastery of your own thoughts. Just always think about the good aspects of a situation and seek to solve problems you are presented with – they’re not problems, just new opportunities to learn! Think of the desired outcome and put positive energy into making it happen. Great ApplicationFor great application of these techniques you need to:
If you think about these tips every day along with the other attributes of a great sales person, you’ll be superior at selling in today’s new world, you’ll get time to enjoy your selling and you’ll get to reap the rewards!
Steve is the founder and managing director of Sterling Chase Associates. In his corporate sales career, he became one of the leading sales practitioners and sales leaders in Europe, with over 20 years experience in consultative selling and sales leadership. He has delivered success for individuals, teams and organizations around the world. Steve has won numerous awards for his sales and leadership achievements. He is a Harvard Business School alumni, and has developed award-winning sales-force transformation tools and selling techniques that deliver a sustained shift in sales performance for organizations of all sizes and all industries. Visit his website at the Sterling Chase homepage or drop him an email at eungblut@sterlingchase.com. Contributor: Steve Eungblut Published here on: 21-Aug-11 Classification: Sales Website: www.sterlingchase.com MSWord: Selling Tips and Techniques to Increase Your Sales Performance.doc |
Site Menu |
| Home | Top | Quick Links | Settings | |
Main sections: | Disciplines | Techniques | Principles | Explanations | Theories | |
Other sections: | Blog! | Quotes | Guest articles | Analysis | Books | Help | |
More pages: | Contact | Caveat | About | Students | Webmasters | Awards | Guestbook | Feedback | Sitemap | Changes | |
Settings: | Computer layout | Mobile layout | Small font | Medium font | Large font | Translate | |
| Home | Top | Menu | Quick Links | |
|