One of the main programs sales training agencies can offer is one on selling skills.
Every sales person has a different approach when making a sales call. Individual approaches are important; they’re what help you relate to a customer on a human level.
However, studies show there are certain selling skills that are common among all sales reps, otherwise known as the seven essential selling skills every sales person should know.
Selling is one of the oldest skills that humans have used.
From very early days humans have been selling and bartering and haggling.
So indeed we all have the capacity to sell; it is engrained within us. However some are better at selling than others.
Selling skills are picked up as part of the sales process, something that has to be honed and practiced.
There are certain selling skills that will differentiate one sales person from another and this is where sales training companies can help.
By looking at the basics and the fundamentals, then building on them.
Selling skills and the art of selling is a journey. This journey needs to be started at the beginning, then build upon.
Communication Skills – As a sales person, this skill might seem self evident, but too many sales people do not take the time to develop their communication skills, choosing instead to rely on a script to get them through a conversation.
While a script can be a useful part of the sales call, the ability to veer off script and communicate with the customer effectively is imperative. Every customer is different; the same script won’t work on everyone and there are times when you may need to bring out your communication skills to close a deal.
Listening Skills – An important part of effective communication is listening. That means allowing the customer to express their needs and concerns and then taking steps to address those concerns in your own response.
When you employ active listening, you are much better equipped to tailor your sales pitch in a way that will appeal to the customer. Listening is also a great way to build trust, and trust is essential for closing deals.
Persuasion Skills – In order to truly excel in this industry, you need to have great persuasive selling skills. Customers are bombarded with advertisements and pitches on a regular basis; you need to know how to convince them that your product or service is worthy of investment.
Being good at persuasion can mean a variety of things, including being able to turn negatives into positives and being sincere about what you’re selling.
Collaboration Skills – We have a tendency to think of a sales person as a lone wolf, someone who works by themselves to close deals rather than part of a sales team. However, being able to collaborate with others and learn from your fellow sales team can be an invaluable asset as you develop your sales career.
Self Motivating Skills – This last skill involves more than just the sales team, it also involves management. All too often, there can be a disconnect between upper management and sales people, with the management not fully appreciating the struggles that sales people are encountering on a daily basis.
If you seriously want to challenge your sales team, you may need to solicit feedback on what they believe is preventing them from doing their best work. Their answers may surprise you, while also giving you a real opportunity to make innovating and advantageous changes.
Problem Solving Skills -A sales person will encounter hundreds, if not thousands, of objections during the course of their sales career. There will be the common objections that you become used to, alongside more unique reasons why customers are not willing to buy.
While you’ll never be able to completely eliminate objections, there are ways to reduce the amount of rejection you face each day. Problem solving skills are selling skills when it comes to learning to meet objections head on and find creative solutions to get them to buy from you.
Negotiation Skills – With an increasing amount of competitors selling to customers, negotiation has become an expected part of the sales process. Customers anticipate that they will be able to negotiate with their sales person, which means that sales people need to come to the negotiation table ready to negotiate.
Any sales person or sales team need to have a good background in selling skills.
Without this the sales team would be ineffective.
However having a background in selling does not make a salesperson efficient in selling.
Many companies do in-house training and mentoring. However many necessary skills can be missed out if it the training is done by an unqualified trainer.
This is normally done as a way of cutting costs, as sales training prices can be high. But then if you want an efficient sales team, you do need to invest in good training.
There is a process to sales training and if this is followed, the results will be much better than if someone just picked up ‘on the job’ skills.
Sales training companies have training courses that will do the following:
Many sales people do not really understand the sales process and as such do not have any continuity with their selling. Sales training can equip and motivate sales staff to become consistent performers and profitable assets to your organisation.
Not all sales training companies are the same. When choosing a marketing company, the challenge you face is there are so many to choose from. Freelancers, larger sales training companies.
Sales training prices will vary considerably. All are independent, all with different selling experience and pricing structures.
As a price comparison website, we want to help you find the best sales trainer for the lowest price. Selling skills is an important skill as Alan Sugar will tell you.