Last week we addressed 5 of our top tips on improving sales success. This week we have 5 more suggestions for improving your success on sales calls.
1.Listen carefully. Here’s a basic rule for a successful sales presentation: Talking 50 percent of the time is too much. Instead, ask questions to direct the conversation 10 percent of the time and listen intently 90 percent of the time.
2. Ask directive questions. Memorize the 5 or 10 most pertinent questions you can ask. Make sure they are open-ended and use the answers to ask follow-up questions.
3. Remember to sell benefits. Although sales trainers have been preaching selling benefits versus features for decades, this technique is often overlooked in the heat of the presentation. If there is any one greatest selling violation, it is the failure to sell benefits. In fact, many salespeople don’t really understand what true benefits are. Be certain you do.
4. Use trial closes. You can often create these in advance of a meeting, then use as many as you need. The best trial closes are frequently open-ended questions that offer a choice and start with a who, when, why, where, or how.
5. Play the numbers game. For seasoned pros, sales is like gambling with the odds stacked in their favor. If you play it often enough, you’ll end up a winner.
If you utilize these methods, in combination with some tried and true methods you’ve perfected, you should be able to quickly accelerate your sales success.