Sale is a career full of rewards and adventures. There could be many ups & downs that happened in a single day that sometimes sends you all the way to cloud nine or straight down to hell. One needs to have a long-term vision like a captain of the fleet on a mission to discover the new land of fortune and never loses sight of hope when encountered the beating of rejections of the ocean. Of course, it also requires the endurance, efforts, and energies of the sailor in executing the routines and perfecting the skills to support the mission.
If you want to succeed in sales, there are few things you need to acquire. These are my learning that I want to share with you:
- Master the fundamental of sales. You need to get to see a lot of people to canvass sales. The questions are: Have you identified the right people, key decision-makers, and influencers to pitch for sales? Have you created trusting personal relationships with each of them? Have you truly understood the customer’s situation at a deeper level? Have you presented a solution that effectively resolved the customer’s pain point?
- Know your customers: It’s our knowledge of them that allows us to position ourselves as competent, trustworthy experts. It’s our knowledge of them that provides us the information we need to propose solutions and consultation that distinguish us from everyone else. It’s our knowledge of them that allows us to continue serving them and keeps them loyal to us.
- Be disciplined, follow your routine: Sale is a simple job but a repeated one. A salesperson has to approach prospects for the appointment, do fact-finding, present offering, follow up, and close the deal. Jim Rohn says “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment”. This is the fine thin line distinguishing a successful salesperson from the not. Disciplined salespersons will force themselves to do the routine every day even they don’t feel like doing it in the pursuit of what they want to achieve.
- Think before you act: All salespersons are the action-oriented person that enjoys being busy and attend to prospects as and when appointments are made. Nevertheless, soaking into busyness does not guarantee success in the career because one could be wasting time and energy going in different directions of the city in a day but not many sales. Only those who are dedicating time devoted to planning and preparing will find themselves far more effective than their action-oriented colleague.
- Invest in yourself: It is shocking to realize that no more than 5% of active, full-time professional salespersons ever invest in their growth. That means only 1 in 20 salespersons have ever spent their own money on a book on sales, or subscribed to a sales magazine, or taken a sales course, or attended a sales seminar. Some mistakenly think that they are successful and their field is so unique that they could not possibly learn anything from anyone else. Some just don’t care while others are contented to let their companies arrange for their training or development. Remember, you are your best asset; don’t be stingy to invest in yourself to grow.
