and give themselves a raise at any time — and the raise becomes effective the minute they do . Real sales pros come in early , stay late , and work through lunch . They ’ re efficient with their time and don ’ t waste it hanging around the water cooler frittering away the daylight hours , incessantly checking Facebook and text messages . Serious sales pros will put in more hours than their “ average ” counterparts , who keep telling them , “ Don ’ t work so hard ” or “ Slow down … you ’ re making the rest of us look bad !” These are actual things I heard repeatedly from other reps as I moved my way up to the top of the game .
3 . They Know Their Product Inside And Out But Know Their Customer Even More . According to a survey conducted by HRC Retail , an overwhelming majority of respondents — 95 % — wanted to be left alone by the salespeople in the store , and 85 % would rather check prices using a scanner than ask for help . Why is this ? Because most salespeople are annoying and worthless , offering no expertise or value to the buyer .
If you want to be truly great at sales and have customers seeking your advice , you need to be an expert at solving their problems . You have to know their situation , misconceptions , beliefs , and goals . You need to be able to advise them , not just sell them . Very few salespeople can tell me the psychographic makeup of their customers . Heck , most don ’ t even know the demographic makeup of their best customers . On a webinar I recently held , I had a prospect write in the chat , “ Is she speaking directly to me ? It ’ s spooky how much she ’ s nailed my exact situation and feelings !” I get this a lot . If you don ’ t , then you need to study your customer more . You should be able to articulate their situation , fears , concerns , wants , and problems even better than they can . When you ’ re able to do that , you ’ ll gain instant rapport and trust because the customer will feel as though you “ get ” them .
4 . They Know How To Ask Good Diagnostic Questions To Prescribe , Not Just Sell . About a year ago , I ventured into a spa and sauna store , looking for a hot tub . My motivation was to help in recovery from the hard workouts I love . Upon my entering the store , the salesperson asked the obligatory “ Can I help you ?”
I offered the knee-jerk , usual response , “ No , I ’ m just looking .”
I supposed , to her credit , she ignored my response , but then she really screwed up by saying , “ Let me tell you about a sale we ’ re having ” and proceeded to point out the hot tub that was discounted , inviting a price discussion before asking a single diagnostic question . Instead of asking , “ Can I help you ?” she could have said , “ What motivated you to come in today ?” or “ Is this your first time looking at hot tubs ?” She could have asked , “ Why are you looking at hot tubs ?” From there , she could have learned my motivation was not to find the cheapest hot tub they had , but one that offered therapeutic benefits or to find one designed specifically for athletic recovery . But she wasn ’ t a pro , and therefore didn ’ t ask any questions to understand me , my motives , and my situation . I could have gotten more information by searching Google than asking her questions . The store would have done better to have Siri installed .
5 . They ’ re Meticulous On Their Follow-Up And Follow- Through . It ’ s gotten so bad out there , with standards so low , that we ’ re actually surprised when someone keeps a commitment they make and does exactly what they promise to do .
True sales pros keep meticulous notes and follow up with prospects as directed . If they say they will send information , they actually do it . If they say they ’ ll “ get back to you ” on a question , they actually do . Further , great salespeople are patient and know that customers buy on their own time frame . These sales pros are willing to continue to follow up with a legitimate prospect in a manner that is not annoying until that person is ready to move forward .
6 . They Use Scripts , Systems , And Processes . There ’ s a famous sales trainer , I won ’ t name , who has a book of 100 ways to close a sale . When I saw the title , I laughed . It would seem to me a book on the single best way to close a sale would be a heck of a lot more valuable than muddling through 99 less-than-excellent ways to get the job done .
The reality is that there aren ’ t 100 “ best ” ways to close a sale . There also aren ’ t 100 “ best ” ways to prospect , qualify , define a prospect ’ s buying criteria , overcome objections , and ask for the sale . There ’ s one — and true top pros work to perfect and refine their process , repeating it over and over again so they continue to meet and exceed quota .
True sales pros also know their numbers and use reverse planning to map out how many sales they need to hit quota , how many proposals they need to have in their pipeline , how many prospects they need to call on , etc . In other words , they don ’ t wing it . They create a plan , work their plan , and pay attention to whether it ’ s working … or not . If not , they keep working on refining it until they hit upon the right and best way to get results , then rinse and repeat .
7 . They Take Pride In Selling . Zig Ziglar has a fantastic presentation called “ Selling : The PROUD Profession ,” because far too many salespeople are secretly , sometimes openly , embarrassed that they are in sales . Many so-called salespeople don ’ t like to sell and think that any tactic , strategy , or approach that could be used to influence someone to buy is an unethical , disgraceful act . They feel their job is to “ build relationships ” ( whatever that means ) but never to sell . They ’ re confused . A salesperson isn ’ t a professional friendship service , and your prospect doesn ’ t want to “ build a relationship ” with you . They have their own friends . You ’ re there to get people to buy your product or service , period . Yes , it should be done in a professional , ethical , elegant , and even fun way — but make no mistake , you are supposed to do everything within your power to convince a prospect to buy from you and not let them buy from your competition or go without altogether . If you do not believe in your product or service to that level , and do not feel that a customer not buying is a complete failure on your part , find something else to sell or improve your product or service so that you can be that passionate . n
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