Tag Archive for: Salespeople

The one thing most new salespeople lack more than anything is the ability to sell with confidence. Being able to confidently deliver your pitch and answer the prospect’s objections is one of the most important skills to master on your way to becoming a sales pro.

To sell, you must believe in your product or service – and believe in yourself. Your selling skills depend, in large part, on your level of self-confidence.

Other people sense whether or not you believe in yourself, and by extension, whether or not you believe in what you’re doing. That belief is what persuades the customer or client to buy the product or service.

Therefore, building your self-confidence will improve your selling skills.

Build Your Self Confidence When Selling …

1. Focus and Build Upon Strength Areas

successful-business

Confident salespeople know their strengths and they work to develop them. This comes from being self-aware, not from being arrogant.

So identify an area you or your team naturally excels at, and then get coaching to develop it even further.

This will help you or them improve in that area. But even more, it will help them build self-confidence when they’re faced with areas they find challenging (for example – delivering a sales presentation.)

2. Replace Negative Energy with Positive Influences

One of the best ways your salespeople can build their confidence in sales is to surround themselves with successful, goal-oriented people.

The sales manager should set the example by being positive and confident themselves, and avoiding negativity when possible.

Positive, optimistic people motivate us to achieve. Try pairing up new sales reps with a mentor who can help them develop their skills and build their confidence.

3. Learn from the Success of Others

the Mentor and Mentee Relationship

A mentor is great for this. However if you are a team leader then you should work to build a culture where your members regularly share “tribal knowledge.”

When a member of your team achieves success, recognize it and ask them to present their success story at your next team meeting.

They’ll own that area of expertise and increase their own confidence level. At the same time, they’ll  help their team members to achieve the same success.

4. Learn from Successes and Failures

We will all experience success and failure. They’re both a necessary part of life.

It’s how we react and learn from our successes and failures that makes the biggest difference.

When you or your team fail at something, be coached or coach them to use it to their advantage. They should learn from it, brush themselves off, and go back out there stronger than before.

When you experience a win, you should do the same thing. Examine what went well, and replicate it in the future.

While a win can provide a confidence level boost, you should learn to always be thinking about the next opportunity on the horizon.

Your Self Image from Negative to Positive5. Develop a Strong Positive Self-Image by Seeing Yourself as an Expert in the field

See yourself as a bearer of good news, a problem solver, and a competent, knowledgeable expert. Realize that you have information and ideas that will add value for your prospect.

6. Visualize Success

Many Olympic athletes use visualization techniques to become medal winners in worldwide competition. Close your eyes and imagine that you’re having a successful interaction with your prospect. Imagine feelings of positivity happening as you see yourself winning in your mind’s eye.

7. Realize that your Good Ideas can Help the Prospect.

People are hungry for ideas, and a prospect is likely to be interested in an idea that’s going to be of benefit to him or her in some way. Instead of seeing yourself as selling a product, see yourself as giving away good ideas.

8. Feed your Mind with Positive Thoughts

Mindset

Classic motivator Zig Ziglar once said;
“…that being selective about the things that you choose to read, look at, or listen to is a key way to guard against negative thinking.”

If you change the mind’s input, you will change your emotional output.

9. Start Each Day Congratulating or Thanking Somebody

It’s amazing how your outlook will change when you start each day thanking someone else.

We make better decisions when we have a clear mind, and the best way to clear your mind is to focus on expressing gratitude to those people around you. Along the way, we feel much better about ourselves as well.

When you take the time to notice what another person is doing and you congratulate them, you’ll suddenly find yourself being more aware of your own talents and accomplishments.

10. Set Weekly Goals

These goals should be ones you know you can achieve early in the week.

success-when-goals-are-written-out

Success breeds success.  Some may see this as being contrary to being successful, but I see it as a valuable tool that works.  Each week, set yourself one or two goals you know you can accomplish early in the week.

When you accomplish them, congratulate yourself. You will be amazed at the impact this method will have on your level of confidence.

This does not mean you shouldn’t also have big long-term goals. What this means is the weekly goals you intend to accomplish early in the week should help move you closer to achieving your big long-term goals.

11.Think Long-Term

When we allow ourselves to focus our attention on short-term things, we are more likely to view things as being overwhelming. Thinking long-term allows us to put what seems like a bad situation into context.

Think back a few months or a few years and remember what it was you were worried about. Fast forward to today and most likely you’ll find yourself wondering why you would have been worried about something that small.

Time helps put everything in context, reduces pressure and allows you to be more confident.

12. Don’t feel that Your Success is Dependent on Someone Else

Only you can define confidence and success.  It’s a personal decision you have to make.

Negative people allow themselves to be seen as victims. Confident people do not allow the concept of being a victim to enter their thinking.

13. To be Confident, You Must See Yourself as Confident

Heroe's Journey

Ground yourself in your beliefs and your personal integrity. There is no way others will see you as confident unless you see yourself as confident.  In the end, you’re the one who will determine your level of confidence.

Going around comparing your level of confidence to how other people see themselves will only lead to arrogance.

Arrogant people are those who view themselves as no longer needing to learn from others, and when this happens they will quickly find themselves isolated from others.

Ask yourself, “How successful will I be in sales if I’m isolated from others?” 

When you look at the above 13 ways to boost your confidence, which ways really resonate with you?

Don’t delay in building confidence that will positively impact not only your sales career, but more importantly, your life overall!

NEED HELP? A coach can help you excel in your sales career!

Just Apply for an Online Business Strategy Session Today!

Where we will first we identify your skill level, your wants and desires, by reviewing your Application.
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Talk Soon,
Dave Cane

Despite all the advances in social media, CRM software, marketing automation and other high-tech tools designed to connect sellers with willing buyers, sales prospecting still involves a lot of old-fashioned pick-and-shovel work to separate the gold from the dirt.

But prospecting isn’t just about working hard. Some people dig for gold all day long and come up empty-handed. Others know how to work smarter and get a better return on their effort.

Are you one of those people who are timid when engaging a prospect with tough questions? Maybe you are someone that tries to gently nurture a lead or a prospect, so you don’t lose them?

GAIN 8 Ways to be Better at Prospecting…

1. Consistency Counts: Prospect Daily!

Consistency is Key

Prospecting is the art of opening new relationships. The new business opportunities that later turn into sales are initially identified through prospecting, making prospecting the lifeblood of sales.

The first way to improve your prospecting results is to acknowledge its importance to your sales results and treat it accordingly.

Improving your prospecting results begins with setting aside the time and the energy to prospect each and every day. And, yes, we do mean each and every day.

Bullet Journal - Time Management Method

Schedule to make time to prospect every day. It is best to set aside the time first thing in the morning to ensure it gets done before the world makes other demands of you.

2. Turn Off the Distractions

“Work is hard. Distractions are plentiful. And time is short.”
– Adam Hochschild

Turn off the Internet, email, and turn off or mute your smartphone. We have found that Social Media to be the largest source of distraction.

Weapons of Mass Distraction

Focus.

Tell your family and friends that you have a new found discipline and that you need their support. Promise to catch up with them later.

Hang a sign on your door saying “Do Not Disturb! Prospecting!” If you don’t have a door, use string and hang the sign over your desk.

3. Use Every Method Available

Prospecting is the activity of opening new relationships, but it isn’t really what we are focused on here.

opportunity knocking street signsWe are focused on the outcome that is better described as opening new business relationships to identify potential new business opportunities. There are many ways to do this, and all of them are effective sometimes.

To prospect well, you need to focus your time and energy on what works best for you, but not exclusively. If you are great at cold calling, you should absolutely focus on cold calling.

But that doesn’t mean that you should never use email marketing, inbound marketing, networking, trade shows and conferences, direct mail, social networking, or referrals. You should include all of these tools in your arsenal.

Make a list of all of the methods that you can and will use to prospect.

Plan the time that you will set aside for each method and how many prospects you will gain from your effort. For example, you might commit to attending one networking event per month with the result that you acquire two new prospects from each networking event.

Measure these results and focus on what generates the greatest return on your investment of time, but remember that your prospects may have their own opinion on how they best like to be approached, and you shouldn’t exclude any method.

4. Write Scripts

Two things cause poor prospecting results. The first is not spending enough time prospecting. The other is ineffective prospecting. This mostly comes down to language choices. It comes down to what you are saying when you prospect.

There is no substitute for scripts.

“But wait!” you say. “I am a professional salesperson and I can’t sound like I am using a script!” We hear you loud and clear. And you can’t sound like someone that your prospect isn’t interested in meeting either.

First, you have to recognize that you are already using a script. The words that you use when prospecting and on sales calls, are choices that are comfortable to you because you have rehearsed them.My Awesome Video Script

They are comfortable to you because you have them memorized, not because you are reading them. But this doesn’t necessarily mean they are the best script to use.

Your effectiveness is improved by choosing your words carefully. Making observations about what is working and what isn’t working. This takes an awareness, focus, and discipline. It also allows you to experiment with language structures to see what is most effective.

Write scripts for each of the prospecting methods you use. Write responses to the common objections you hear. Rehearse them. If you are part of a great sales team, do this together and rehearse them together.

5. Focus on the Outcome

The outcome of prospecting is to open the relationship. This almost always involves obtaining the commitment for an appointment.

Open Relationship by Prospecting

Effectiveness in prospecting is improved by simply focusing on the outcome. This means that you don’t allow your prospecting to turn into a needs analysis, a presentation, or a discussion about the merits of your product or service.

It means you apply a laser-like focus on scheduling the appointment.

The reason some people struggle focusing on the outcome of an appointment and the reason often they slip into the sales mode is because they feel that they have to prove that they can create value for the prospect during their prospecting activity.

Selling, at this point, is premature.

Just know that a successful outcome here is almost always an appointment. It doesn’t matter how much you liked them or how much they liked you if you didn’t schedule an appointment.

6. Ask Value Focused Questions

From the start, we have to be focused on moving the lead forward, and that includes creating value as quickly as possible.

You create value by asking questions early, and we mean very early in the process.

If you fail to have a plan as to how you tie value to the outcomes the prospect desires, then you run a major risk of the prospect never going anywhere. This means you need to ask “value-focused” questions sooner than you most likely have been doing.

Give Value Give Value Give Value

“Value focused” questions are ones that get the other person discussing the real issues they’re facing. They aren’t absolute questions regarding price, but rather they’re questions that help uncover the outcome the customer wants.

You can’t afford to not ask tough questions early in the process. The questions you ask will vary based on what you do and who you’re working with, but here are just a couple to get you thinking:

What is the risk if you don’t do anything?
Why has this become a problem for you?
How will this impact other parts of your business?

You see these questions are designed to engage.

Don’t think you can’t ask questions like this during the first call. If you don’t ask questions like this, you run the risk of having the other person focus the conversation on the features of what you sell and that you’re nothing more than a low-price vendor.

Today your job is to up your game with the questions you ask. Don’t hold back. The faster you know the outcome the prospect is looking for, the sooner you will be able to equate it to value. In the end, your customers will only pay for value.

7. Get Good at Cold Calling

Cold Calling - Call Centre

There is too much to write here about how to get good at cold calling. But it is important that you have it in your repertoire, and that you build your competency picking up the phone and scheduling an appointment.

Cold calling is still one of the fastest ways to schedule appointments and to open relationships, and the very best salespeople are the very best at cold calling. They are also the very best at all other forms of prospecting, and the only people we have found that are willing to consistently ask for referrals, something else salespeople avoid.

Start cold calling.

8. Nurture Relationships Over Time

Even when you use all of the ideas above, you are still going to hear “no.”

You are going to hear it a lot. But relationships, including business relationships, are built over time. Your consistent and unrelenting pursuit of your dream clients is part of a longer-term plan for success and not a quick fix.

Consistency is Key

Consistency here means that these prospects hear from you more than sporadically. It means they hear from you frequently and with all the predictability of the Sun rising each morning.

Some of the best relationships and the biggest deals will take the longest time to win, and your consistent nurturing of these relationships will open opportunities for you over time.

This approach proves that you are not going to disappear like so many of your peers, that you are truly interested in working with them, that you are a professional who executes well, and that you are determined.

These are some of the attributes that people look for in salespeople, partners and friends.

Write a nurturing plan.

What will you do to create value for your dream clients even before they decide to set an appointment with you? How often will you call? How often will they receive something from you? What will they receive? What will it say about you? How will it create trust?

Opening relationships is built upon the ability to prospect. Follow these steps to improve your prospecting results.

Invest in yourself by checking out our coaching program today!Don’t forget that a coach can help improve your prospecting skills – excel in your business.

If you want or need any help – connect with us on one of our social media platforms or on our contact us form!

Talk Soon,
Nicky and Dave

Smartphone to Make Money Online

The best satisfaction one can get is when they are selling solely because of the “why” we sell.

At exactly the same time, the most challenging time we’ve had is when we are focused on our very own personal targets at the expense of the clients to whom we were selling to.

The biggest sin a salesperson can do is to sell a lot more than anyone could handle. It could be an absurd amount of inventory or even a  product that is a trendy that does not solve an existing problem. A salesperson that sells to customers without acknowledging the “why” does not get repeat customers.

A sale that’s not worthwhile for the client is not really a sale. Read more

Successful negotiating requires you have a technique. The clearer you are on  strategy before negotiating, the more lucrative you’ll be. At the core of the strategy is what Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter” calls the “3 Ts of Negotiating: Trust, Time, and Tactics.”

Master these as part of your selling skills! 

As these 3 T’s of Negotiating when used well will boost your motivation in sales and can increase your profits.

1st T of Negotiating is Trust

The more trust you and other party have in one another, the less need to negotiate. The chance is at knowing if the trust is real or only perceived.

trust

Trust only comes with time and the having quality interactions with your client. Remember quality not quantity is important.

To measure the degree of trust you established, consider what your partner has told you about their company or even themselves. As the more they let you know things that is not known by others, the greater trust they have got in you.

Perceived trust is blind and can get you in big trouble rapidly. It often comes when the other party is an excellent communicator and is easy to get along with.

Time Management2nd T of Negotiating is Time

The more time you have before it’s essential to finalize an offer, the higher your leverage.

If time is of the essence to you, then don’t allow the client to really know what your timeframe is.

An excellent negotiator will use time to their benefit by knowing timelines that the other party is dealing with – without disclosing anything apart from what is essential to help close the negotiation.

2nd T of Negotiating is Tactics

Finally, people focus on using tactics when negotiating if they do not have an established level of trust with the other person or they really don’t have time working in their favor. The quantity and type of tactics a person will use is in direct proportion to the lack of trust they have together.

Tactics To Use In Business NegotiatingOne way of taking a look at the role these 3 Ts play in negotiating is to think about the total of the three equaling 100%.

If you have a high degree of trust both ways in your business relationship, then the use of tactics or leveraging time is not needed.  In cases like this, trust might be 100%.

Alternatively, if you have hardly any trust in the other party, then you will need to count on tactics and time to complete the negotiation.

The most detrimental circumstance would be when there is zero time to negotiate and there is absolutely no trust between the two parties. In cases like this, the only real “T” you need to use is tactics.

Your potential to improve the degree of trust will usually allow you to diminish the importance of time and tactics.

Start today paying close attention on the amount of trust that is present between you and each of your clients. We encourage you to you to really think about this, even if you are not currently in a negotiation situation.

Wise salespeople know how to examine each T with each client.The more adept you become at this, the better negotiator you will become.

Will be the three Ts part of your strategy?
They must be.

Talk Soon,

Nicky and Dave Cane

Related Article: How to Sell to Strangers – Our Step-By-Step Guide

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Strangers are only unknown to you because you do not know their desires, dreams and anxieties.

In the event that you start pitching products to someone you do not understand, you may meet level of resistance because people have a tendency to obtain people who understand them.

You could sell to strangers by firmly taking the time to get to know them. They don’t obtain you because you will need the sale; they’ll obtain you because you have ways to make their lives better.

Selling to strangers does not involve the use of tricks. It involves an empathetic approach to understanding what they really want. Read more

SalespeopleIf buyers could easily get by without salespeople, do you think they would?

It really is a fascinating question if you stop and consider the role of the salesperson. Naturally, taking into consideration the role within an abstract way is a very important factor, but how about considering it from an individual perspective? What goes on as a salesperson when you put your thoughts aside for an instant, relax, take a breath and honestly consider,

“What role will I play with my customers?”

If you ask a salesperson what value they bring to their buyers, you will most likely get smoke and mirrors. Once you ask this question of clients and specifically professional customers, you will get a totally different answer. For professional clients who visit a wide selection of salespeople, the worthiness they put on them is usually very little.

Are You Thinking About Why?

Read more