I belong to that part of humanity who consider learning to be a lifelong process. And I think that in spite of all the advantages and success a person always has something to learn in order to improve his/her knowledge and experience. In my work I learn important lessons every day from books, from the people I communicate with, from my mistakes and from my colleagues’ experience.
There are some common skills every qualified sales person should possess and develop day after day as there is no limit for perfection.
1) One of the most important skills for a sales person is profound understanding of what he/she sells. Understanding of the reasons that force people to buy the product or service and the reasons that stop them from buying it. It has nothing to do with physical characteristics like product weight, size, etc. It is about knowing all the virtues and drawbacks of what you sell. It’ll help you clearly see what the product is best for and demonstrate its irreplaceability and perfection.
2) The next point in my list is deep penetration into the needs of the target audience and understanding of what needs can be met by your product or service. It is the basis of a successful proposal – to be able to offer the right product at the right time to the right person.
3) There is huge difference between such seemingly alike notions as ‘to hear’ and ‘to listen’. A sales person should be able not only to listen to the customer but to hear him/her as well. Do not strain your ears, just put yourself on the customer’s place and try to see the situation from his/her point of view. It is not a specific marketing skill, it’s a universal habit.
4) What else should a sales manager be capable of? It is definitely an ability to quickly adapt to the individual needs and resources of each client and line up your behavior in accordance to the situation. Speed plays an important role here as you are to persuade a person before the decision is made and you are hardly able to change it.
5) Sometimes the customer tends to underestimate the existing problem and overestimate the price you offer. The result of your communication depends on your ability to correlate the seriousness of the customer’s problem and the potential of your product or service as quickly as possible. You will either arrange a deal or save your time and efforts.
6) The last skill I want to draw your attention to is the ability to persuade. I’m not sure whether it is the right definition for what I mean, because persuasion is supposed to be based on real facts and your ability to interpret them in the right way. So if you provide the customer with pure facts and arguments you will not have to talk him\her into buying. The product will sell itself. Isn’t it what all marketing efforts are aimed at?
No doubt, this list can and should be further extended, but the abovementioned skills are to be applied to every communication process. And every communication with your customers is to contribute to your mastery and improve these skills. Live and learn!
 | Posted by Olga Kalenchenko, Sales Manager |
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