Business Growth
How Can I Improve My Sales Techniques?
Everyone is always looking for an advantage to close more sales. We read books, follow industry leaders, listen to podcasts, and go to trainings. All of these are great tools to help you succeed in yo...
Jay Owen,CEO & Founder
25+ years in digital marketing | StoryBrand Certified Guide | HubSpot Platinum Partner | Author of 'Building a Business That Lasts'
TL;DR
Everyone is always looking for an advantage to close more sales. We read books, follow industry leaders, listen to podcasts, and go to trainings. All of these are great tools to help you succeed in yo...
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Everyone is always looking for an advantage to close more sales. We read books, follow industry leaders, listen to podcasts, and go to trainings. All of these are great tools to help you succeed in your trade — I myself love doing them all. However, all your time spent growing could be a giant waste if you don’t have some core fundamentals down. I have put together four fundamentals that I use in every sales process. These can also be translated to work with relationships in general. These four items are 100% in your control and won’t cost you a thing to implement.
4 Fundamental Sales Techniques
I’ve found over my 10+ years in sales that these four fundamentals will help you close more sales regardless of what it is you’re trying to sell. So if you’re looking to gain some good sales skills, these should help.1. Reply
The calendar of anyone in sales can easily become a whirlwind of tasks, meetings, and calls. This confusion and constant busyness can lead you to quickly feeling overwhelmed, causing you to either miss incoming prospects or be slow to respond — sometimes so slow that they go with someone else before you even have a chance to try winning them over. The speed at which you reply will greatly affect the chance of you closing the deal. I follow this rule of thumb: I return all missed calls within the hour and respond to all emails the same day, providing a direct link to my calendar. This allows the prospect to choose a time that works best for them without the back and forth it normally takes to get a call scheduled. I love the calendar tool from HubSpot.2. Smile
This one seems weird, or maybe obvious, but it’s true. When you talk to someone on the phone — and especially in person! — you should smile. When it comes to the phone, a smile can affect your phone call success in two major ways.- The person on the other side of the phone can tell. We’ve all been there before, where we have to call a support line for some reason, and once we finally get someone on the line — because we always have to hold — the person not only sounds less than thrilled to be speaking with us, but they may even sound half asleep or downright aggravated that they have to do their job, which is talking to us. Many of us have also experienced great calls, where the person on the other side of the phone offers a warm greeting and welcomes us into a conversation so they can help. They’re so nice, in fact, that we can almost see the smiling face on the other end of the phone. That’s the person you want to be. No matter how the deal ends, you want the other person to feel good about having talked to you.
- Smiling can change your tone and mindset through the call. When you dial a number with a smile on your face, you’re already setting yourself up to sound happy and feel happy during the call. If you were on the receiving end of the phone call, you’d know that I’m happy to give you my time and attention, and even if the deal doesn’t work out, I’m still glad we talked. Every phone call should be a positive interaction to the best of your ability, and smiling will help make this happen.
3. Listen
As a salesperson, we often feel the need to start selling ourselves, our product, or our services right away. Salespeople have a reputation for dominating conversations and being pushy. In all my years of sales, I have learned that none of these things work at all. My calls go best when I ask a simple question and let the prospect talk. This helps me identify their true pain points. Asking questions always helps me gather more information about the prospective client rather than bombarding them with information on the history of the company. The truth is, they don’t care about my company. They care about how I can help them — and that’s what I care about, too. I prefer for the call to be 85% the prospect talking and 15% talking for myself.4. Help
I approach every call as an opportunity to provide value to the caller. As I listen to them, I take down notes on the pain points they reveal. I want to know what they need so I can figure out how I can help them out. By the end of the call, I like to find at least one direct action that can be taken to improve their situation right away. It might be a tip, a tool, or a resource that I can share, but whatever it is, I want to make sure it benefits them. By providing that value upfront and expecting nothing else from the caller, you’re rapidly building the trust it will take for them to say, “Yes” when you ask for the sale.Grow Your Sales Success
Sales can be tough, but the good news is that sales can always be made. Someone, somewhere needs what you’re selling. And by following these four sales tips, you can start improving your sales techniques today. Do you have a favorite sales technique that you find works? Let me know!Ready to Grow Your Business?
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