One thing almost all businesses have in common is that they rely on sales. Whether you are selling or employing others to sell for you, you need to understand the basics of sales success. Contrary to popular belief there is no such thing as a “natural salesperson”. However, anyone can build a career in sales if they have the right tools. 

In this article, we tell you what those tools are and how to put them to use. We also discuss some successful sales techniques and qualities of a successful salesperson. So, what makes the sale successful? Keep reading to find out. 

What makes a good salesperson?

Sales are not about being pushy. In fact, that’s one of the worst ways to approach sales. The consumer is smart, they know what they want, and they can sense dishonesty.

To be a good salesperson you need to respect the consumer. Understand what they want and how you can deliver it. Show empathy, read their emotions and tailor your pitch to suit. It should be a collaborative process between you and your client. 

Lastly, you need to be able to handle rejection. No one has a perfect strike rate. You will fail to make the sale sometimes and that is ok, as long as you learn from it. 

Steps to a successful sales process:

Here at ActionCOACH, we have developed a secret recipe to success. We call it "The Three A’s- Attitude, Activity and Ability". 

Attitude

Having a good attitude will help you in life. This is true for sales - being confident is key. But this goes beyond just self-belief. You need to believe in the product you are selling. If you don’t believe in it then neither will the consumer. Ask yourself these four questions:

1. Do I have a good attitude about the products or services I offer?
2. Do I believe I am filling a hole in the market?
3. Can I deliver on your promises?
4. Are my customers getting real value for money?

If you and your team cannot confidently answer yes to each question, then selling may be a challenge. Time to make some changes? Focus on improving the product or the delivery of your service.

Educate yourself on the benefits of the product. This might even mean testing out the product yourself. Knowing the ins and outs of what you are selling is crucial. 

We invite you to our free strategy session, which will help you get a 360 ° view of your business that guarantees business transformation in just 6 Steps.

Activity 

This is all about what you are actively doing to generate sales. Are you marketing effectively? Are you generating leads? You need to be proactive! Go out there and find people to sell to, don’t wait for them to come to you. You need to generate buzz around the product or service you are selling. 

You can do this by cold calling, direct mailing, advertising, networking and referring. You need to be doing a combination of these things consistently, plus thinking up new strategies. The most successful salespeople are innovative. Don’t get stuck in a rut, think of new ways you can generate leads and make sales.

Be sure to follow up on possible leads, without being too pushy. You also need a sales revenue formula; this is the income generated by your sales. It will help you highlight areas of improvement and set goals. The best way to find this is to multiply the number of sales by the average price of your goods/services. 

Find out how effective your current marketing efforts are and get complimentary business coaching session to discover how to turn your marketing expenses into guaranteed results. Start a marketing test today!

Ability 

When we talk about ability, we mean the salesperson's capacity to uncover the needs of each customer. And then provide a solution to those needs (i.e. make the sale). To do this successfully you must remember two things:

1. Buying habits are primarily emotional: a desire to gain or a fear of losing out. 
2. People buy benefits not features: they want to know how this product will improve their life. 

You need to be able to listen to what your customers want. Not just listen on a service level, but actually listen. Then you can understand what they want and provide a solution. Next, you need to know your product inside out and back to front.

Apart from the technical knowledge, you need to have a list of benefits and reasons why a person needs this product. Once you have unlocked the ability to do these two things, you will be able to have a successful sales meeting. 

How we can help?

So, there you have it, the basics to sales success. Always remember attitude, action and ability when approaching each new sale. We hope these sales tips help you with your future sales.

 At ActionCOACH, we can answer your questions about business coaching and set you up to improve the growth of your business. If you’d like to know more about how to become successful in sales, Click here to book a discovery session.