Published July 2004
Master
sellers have mastered ‘nonsales skills’
Everyone
talks about “how to sell.” Not me. I stress “why they buy,” or “how to
get people to buy.” It’s a much more powerful success model.
I have a trademarked
quote: “People don’t like to be sold, but they love to buy.”
“Sure, Jeffrey,”
you say. “Easy for you, but I’m cold calling, I’m fighting competition,
I’m in a tough market, you don’t understand.”
I understand very
well. You are where 95 percent of all salespeople are. Struggling.
In order to struggle
less, you must begin to make the transition from “making a sale” to “creating
a buying atmosphere.”
Most salespeople
are taught some “system” of selling. That’s where the hardship starts.
They concentrate on the system and not the prospect. Salespeople are so
busy trying to manipulate the selling process that they disengage the
buyer.
What is selling about?
Let me give you the “nonsales skills” version. It is the version that
leads to buying. These are the life skills that will help you rise to
the top. None of them are about “how to close the sale.” All of them are
about how to be a success at selling. Forever.
- Self understanding
is first — One of the keys is understanding what you need to do to establish
yourself and your position. It also means understanding the customer’s
desires combined with your excellence.
- Helping others
fill a need or dream — If you take joy in others’ success or fulfillment,
you will be a success a hundred times over.
- Being your best
at all times — Second best in sales is first loser. Best is everything
in sales success.
- Loving what you
do — The most successful people in the world love what they do. The
easiest ones to notice are the ones earning the most money. Athletes,
actors, entrepreneurs. But money is not what creates the “love.” Teachers,
mothers, farmers who love what they do rise to the top of their capabilities.
John Patterson said, “Put your heart into your work.” And he was correct.
- Having the best
attitude — If you love what you do, it will show through your attitude.
Attitude is the energy from which successful people flourish.
- Believing in
your product, your company and yourself — If you don’t possess these
three elements, stop reading. The rest of this information will do you
no good. Without belief, you’ll have no desire to do the hard work necessary
to convert selling into buying.
- Asking engaging
questions — Questions must be thought provoking (not irritating). Questions
must demand that the prospect be encouraged to consider new information
(not tell you information you could have looked up yourself). Questions
must be innovative and intelligent. Questions must be different than
those asked by your competition. Questions are the key element in creating
an “I need to buy this” thought process on the part of your prospect.
- Being idea-creative
in advance and on the spot — Anyone will tell you that creativity is
one of the few, true differentiators. Then the question is, how do you
get more creative? The easy answer — and that’s what you really want,
isn’t it? — the easy answer is: Read one creativity book each quarter;
prepare for your sales calls the night before with Internet research;
and practice by forcing yourself to come up with five ideas. The practice
is the most important element. Once you get in the groove and have the
knowledge, the ideas will flow.
- Knowing how the
customer and others produce and profit — When you are trying to make
a mental impact on the decision-making process, trying to persuade someone
with facts about your features and benefits pales in comparison to proof
that by taking ownership, the customer will increase productivity and
profits.
- Having great
communication skills — Because your message must be compelling and transferable
(understandable), you must master speaking and presentation skills.
Join Toastmasters.
- Serving with
sincerity — Your actions are taken by the way they are perceived. Some
people love to serve and go the mile. Some people serve with disdain
and only go as far as they “need to.” Both philosophies are easily recognized.
- Giving without
expectation of getting — This is among the hardest things for a salesperson
to do, but it’s an important key to getting high-level acceptance and
recognition. HINT: The more you give, the more you get.
- Positioning yourself
as a resource — When you give value to prospects and customers, when
you provide information they can benefit from beyond your product or
service, you are creating the law of attraction. With valuable information
that people use to benefit, profit and produce, you become sought after.
Combine these attributes
with self-education — and sales success is yours.
If you save this
list, review it weekly for a year, select one of the elements each week
and work on the skill, you will become a master. This is hard work. There’s
an alternative. You can learn old-world selling skills.
Which do you think
is more powerful?
Jeffrey Gitomer, author
of “The Sales Bible” and “Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer
Loyalty is Priceless,” is president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Buy Gitomer.
He gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings and conducts Internet training
programs on selling and customer service. He can be reached at 704-333-1112
or e-mail to salesman@gitomer.com.
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