If you're in sales, you know time is money. Even if you're not in sales, but you use sales tactics and negotiation skills, I bet you also know the value of getting things moving. So I'm going to cover all the sales skills you need to know in just a few seconds.
Ready? To be great in sales, you need to set goals for yourself by the week, month, quarter. Take advantage of training opportunities.
learn new stuff, a whole bunch of stuff, all the stuff. Try out new methods, keep the good ones, throw out the bad ones. Practice your public speaking.
Research industry trends. Keep up. Develop a customer service mindset.
Build rapport with colleagues and customers. Boost your presentations. Develop prospecting strategies.
Practice closing techniques. Understand your product. No, really understand it.
Boost your time management abilities. Get a mentor, work with that mentor, be a mentor. Seek feedback.
When you get it, implement that feedback. OK. Got it.
Not completely? Well, I can help with that? We built this course to help you level up your sales skill set.
My goal here is to give you practical tips that you can start to use immediately. I'm not here to pitch you on sales. I assume you're doing it, and want to get better.
So let's go. When you go on vacation in the Caribbean, you're in a relaxation mindset. When you're going to a concert, you're in a party mindset.
And when you're on the job, you're in a customer service mindset. It was on that list. Did you catch it?
Here at Indeed, we define the customer service orientation or mindset as having a positive attitude, being eager to help when working with a customer, and demonstrating a willingness to provide that customer with the best service possible. I'm using that word mindset on purpose. It's different from, say, a belief system.
That's constant. Can you imagine constantly living your life with a customer service orientation? I hear you saying you're not enjoying this date.
That must be very frustrating for you. Would you like me to be funnier? Yeah.
No good. But when you're at work in a sales position, it's critical to turn that mindset on by listening to the customer to better understand their needs, developing relationships, understanding your services and products, so you can make confident recommendations, going out of your way to solve problems. I'm not telling you anything new.
Most sales professionals already know they should be doing this stuff. But if you're new to sales, or if it's only a small component of your work, it can be easy to slip out of a customer service mindset. You've got to build the habit.
Here are a few tips for getting in and staying in a customer service mindset. First, try reflecting each day on your customer service work. Where did you succeed?
Where did you come up short? What goals does that make you have for tomorrow or next week? One way to ritualize this reflection is to do it at the same time or place every day.
Also, be on the lookout for examples of great customer service from your colleagues. And when you see that service, let them know. And when you're frustrated at interactions with customers, try flipping the script to see the challenges from their perspective.
You might even literally turn 180 degrees right there, so you can build the muscle memory of looking at the experience from the customer's point of view. Building a habit takes intentionality and repetition. A customer service mindset can boost engagement and sustain a potential customers interest.
But it doesn't close deals. Not by itself anyway. That's where your professionalism comes in.
Advancing in your sales career is predicated on you, getting better at what you do. Here are a few tips. To begin, take the time to learn about your product or services.
Look, you can be as pleasant as can be. But if you don't know the difference between water-based and oil-based paints, your customer is going to walk away. But in contrast, if you take the time to research industry trends, read customer feedback, and sign up for trainings.
You will be in a better position to speak with authority. You'll earn your customers trust. Next, break the sales process into parts, and work on your technique for each step.
Here are seven common elements to sales. Prospecting, prep, your approach, the presentation, handling objections, closing, and follow-up. So where are your strengths?
What are your weaknesses? Even if you think it's obvious, this is a great opportunity to ask for feedback from a colleague or a manager. And this brings me to my final recommendation.
Set goals for yourself by the week, month, quarter. Your office may have standardized sales goals to which they hold everyone accountable, or you may need to make some up for yourself. If you do, make them specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.
Like this. By July 1, I will increase my sales by spending two hours a week on prospecting, completing a training course on closing, and following up on all leads within 15 days. By the way, I did not make up SMART goals.
George T. Doran did back in the '80s. Big gaps, George.
Lastly, understand the art of negotiation. I know you may know this, but just to make sure we're all on the same page. Discussions become negotiations when two or more people try to reach an agreement about something through bargaining.
Suffice to say the ability to negotiate and close a deal is absolutely critical to someone working in sales. There are two types of approaches to negotiation. Distributive or win-lose negotiations, and integrative or win-win negotiations.
If you're a plumber working with major landlords in Manhattan, more than likely, you're in a distributive situation. They're trying to get the best boilers hot water heaters and service plans while you're trying to protect your margins. In these situations, it's best to be persistent.
Be polite, but assertive. You know that there's going to be some back and forth bargaining. So make the first offer.
That way at least you can start with terms that you see as favorable. And finally, don't share how low you're willing to go. I understand the rationale of trying to be direct.
But your customer is planning on negotiating. If you start at your minimum favorable outcome, you can expect the bargaining to also start from that point. So aim high.
The other side of the coin is integrative negotiation, or win-win bargaining. These usually involve multiple issues, not just high rise heating systems, for example. And you've typically got both parties aiming to reach a mutually beneficial solution.
For example, let's say a sporting goods manufacturer, and a professional football team from Spain agree to collaborate together. They negotiate a contract, where the team only uses this particular brand of sporting goods while on the field and during public appearances during the season. In return, the manufacturer provides the equipment for free, donates a ton to local schoolchildren, and pays each player a combination of cash, and preferential stock for the period of the contract.
In these situations, it's best to be transparent about your principles and goals with the other party. You want to build trust. And use bargaining to solve problems that inevitably arise.
Quite often the problem solving sessions are collaborative as opposed to adversarial. With all types of negotiations, some best practices, include asking your customer to set aside price at least for the time being, and explain what they like or dislike about their current provider or product. This gives you the chance to first listen to the customer's needs, share how your product or service better meets their needs, and recommend options based on what you heard the customer share.
If you want to practice your sales skills, consider how you would approach selling me this pen. I mean it. Now, don't just talk about its features, instead focus on how the pen can help me, or the person you're going to practice on.
How you can help me meet my needs. Go ahead. Give it a shot.
Sold. So the next time you're about to begin working with a customer, ask yourself, are you in the customer service mindset? Do you know your product and services inside it out?
Have you reflected on your performance with each section of the sales experience? Have you set sales goals and are you working towards them? And finally, are you ready to apply the best negotiation tactics?
With sales, there's a chance to earn a ton of money. A bunch of options for growing your career, travel, job security, networking. If you already work in sales, perhaps these are some of the reasons why you started.
And if you're thinking about a career in sales, I bet these are some of the reasons why. It's pretty easy to get into sales. But to succeed, that requires leveling up your skill set today and every day.
If you enjoyed this video, please like and subscribe, and check out our other courses. We've built this course to help you level up your sales skill set. Dang it.
So close. Yes, this is what I call a party.
