Although some of us would definitely not describe ourselves as sales people and were not born with an inherent sales gene that some seem to have, we all have to employ sales tactics at some points in our lives.
Applying the tips and advice of a New Home Sales Coach might be what you need to take your career to the next level for example, but there are basic sales skills that everyone needs to have and even if you don’t think you have it in you, you can quickly learn how to sell anything with ease.
Learning the fundamentals
Your ability to sell yourself could help to open some new doors to a successful career amongst other things, and learning the fundamentals of selling yourself or an idea that you have will often play a part in your success.
Once you have taken on board the key components of what constitutes a successful sales strategy, you can then apply these fundamental skills to a whole range of life-changing situations, such as being interviewed for a new career opening as well as being useful for selling a product or service as well.
Research is key
One of the fundamental sales strategies is to know your customer.
Being prepared and doing your homework adds to the professionalism and means that you are able to ask the right questions and respond to any that come your way in reply.
Being ready for a meeting or interview will help you to close a sale or clinch that job or contract that you want.
Find a connection
It may seem like a bit of a cliché but making a connection with someone you meet will help you to achieve a sale in whatever format the sale happens to be.
Regardless of whether you have a genuinely great product or service to sell or have all the right credentials for a job opportunity, unless you manage to make a connection and find some common ground that you share, it will be hard work to close a deal.
Serving their needs
Selling something to someone that they need should be fairly straightforward but there is a subtle art to learn and deploy when it is not so obvious what the person sitting opposite you needs.
Another of the fundamentals of selling is being to identify a need so that you can sell them a product or service which satisfies those needs. Get into their mindset and see things from their perspective in order to achieve a successful sale or meeting.
Networking
The harsh truth is that very few people in this world will actually buy something from somebody that they don’t like and it is infinitely harder to close a sale if you don’t know the person or have some sort of connection with them.
Networking is important and even if you are the sort of person who likes to distinguish between friends and business contacts, you have to work on creating contacts and friendships on different levels of closeness, in order to get on in business or to progress with your career.
Values and principles
Selling or doing deals at any cost is a short-term approach that is not going to help you in the future, which is why applying some core values and principles is a sales strategy that does pay dividends.
If a deal or offer is not right for you or the other person, it is often better to walk away and tell them politely why you are refusing the opportunity at this time. Developing a reputation for upholding values and principles will often see the other person come back to you at a later stage and be much more willing to do business with you as you have earned their trust and respect.
Over-delivering is a good attribute
Providing good value for money and over-delivering on your promises is a really good sales strategy that will allow you to win new customers and contacts.
Most people like to feel that their custom is valued and always remember when someone goes the extra mile for them, so the ability to over-deliver is actually a way of selling yourself or your business and will put in some solid foundations for your career or business in the longer term.
Even if you don’t consider yourself to be a natural salesman and don’t even like to push people for a decision, there are still some basic sales-based principles which you can apply to get where you want to be.
Rick Storlie has been helping home builders and remodelers reach their sales goals since 1992. He does this helping his clients implement a five step Functional Sales system utilizing Ubix Web Marketing Automation.
