No matter which product or service it is that you are offering as a business, the one aspect that you should really work hard on is sales. Even if you have an excellent product which you have patented and developed to perfection, you will not earn profit if it is not being sold to consumers. You need to have a sales strategy to increase your sales, and it is entirely up to your sales staff to give your profit a boost.
Key Factors in Listening when it Comes to Sales
Based on the size of your organization, you could have an entire team dedicated to sales, or you could have one or two individuals whose sole job is to sell what you have to offer as a business. When hiring members of your sales staff, it is perfectly fine to look for those who have the gift of gab. However, there is such a thing as a hard sell – wherein customers might get turned off by a sales person if he or she pushes too hard. To prevent this from happening, you need to look for stales staff who have developed that delicate balance between talking and listening.
Why is listening an important skill when it comes to sales? Remember that even though you are trying to sell something to a customer, communication between the seller and the buyer still has to take place. Communication involves one party talking while the other listens. If your sales people only know how to talk but never listen to what the customers have to say, they cannot really be considered good at what they do. Unless you have a full understanding of what customers need, you cannot give them what they want.
This just goes to show how important it is for sales people to develop good listening skills, and these are a few tips for them to accomplish such feat:
- You have to listen without an agenda and know that it’s not about you, it’s about the customers.
Sure, you are selling your product when you are delivering a sales pitch. But why are you selling the product in the first place? Products are manufactured and services are delivered to provide benefits to consumers. When you are talking to a potential customer, listen without an agenda because it’s not about you, it’s about them.
- Although you can always say your piece, never talk someone into something that they don’t want in the first place.
Even if you’re trying to meet the sales quota, you should still practice ethics in selling which means that you should never talk someone into something that they don’t want in the first place. There is such a thing as buyer’s remorse. After being convinced to buy your product, they look at it a while later and wonder why they even wasted money on it in the first place. When you’re delivering your sales pitch, remember to add value to your product so buyer’s remorse won’t occur.
- It always pays to ask questions to assist customers in making a buying decision.
Finally, remember to ask questions that will assist them in making a wise purchasing decision. Really listen to what they have to say so that you can understand where the customer is coming from.
Although sales people are known for their gift of gab, being equally good listeners is a trait that they should have in order to become even more effective in selling.