How To Sell Effectively
October 26, 2010 by Skill Selling
Filed under effective selling skills
Talk to any business honcho, entrepreneur or a top executive of a company and ask them what the most critical function is in an organization. There is a large chance that the answer would be sales.
Sales are to an organization what blood is to the human body. The importance of sales can be gauged from the fact that it is the only revenue-generating function. All other functions tend to be cost centers.
Being good at sales require typical attributes like communication skills, the gift of the gab, interpersonal skills, management savvy and more.
More important than anything else is that the sales person should know the product he is selling like the back of his hand. Knowing exactly how the product compares with that of the competitor is a definite plus.
If anyone told you that sales means selling a comb to a bald man, he probably got it all wrong. At the heart of any sales activity is a good product that is sold to a person who actually needs it, or may need it.
In the present day world, consumers are knowledgeable, intelligent and do their homework well before making purchases, especially the big ones. Hide something from the consumers, and they will dig out the information from just about anywhere, courtesy of information technology.
So the best bet is to divulge it all. Emphasize the good points of the product and let the customer as to how the product attributes will benefit them.
For example, while selling a fan, a salesperson says that the motor of the fan has two set of ball bearings. The statement does not make much sense to the buyer. However, if the sales person goes on to say that this addition set of ball bearing ensures that the fan does not make any noise whatsoever, the potential benefit is being conveyed to the customer who may now become interested.
It is a good idea to inform the customer as to how the product was manufactured, and also put them in the picture as to the quality of materials used.
Every product satisfies some need of a customer. More often than not, people buy products to make their lives trouble-free and more comfortable.
Inquiring about the client’s lifestyle and habits, and then subsequently explaining how the product would help them would ensure that there are fewer complaints and returns. As a salesperson, you help customers make the right choices for their personal needs, and sell the right product to the person who needs it.
To be an effective salesperson and to be able to improve on your best performance require quite a bit of talent. Some attributes of good sales persons and do’s and don’ts have already been mentioned.
If you wish hone your selling skills, you may go in for coaching that involves lot of practical assignments. For reading books on effective sales is one thing and going out in the field and actually selling the product to the client is quite another.
NSA delivers sales courses that have been developed by Australia’s leading and internationally sought-after trainers to learn sales.



