and Planning: Gathering information to assist you in contacting and calling on the prospect. This includes research, social networking, personal contact, and third party information. Proper planning gives you a competitive edge.
Prospecting: Identifying the organizations and individuals that have a potential need for your products/services/ solutions.
Product: Interpreting how your products/services/ solutions benefit your prospects and communicating that value to them.
Process: Implementing a formula for focusing on the prospect's needs, issues, and concerns.
The Person: Possessing the confidence in yourself and understanding your role as a sales professional.
16 Professional Selling Principles
Here are some principles you may want to think about during your sales day.
Principle #1: Selling is a process, not an event
This is one of the essentials of successful selling. Selling is a step-by-step process involving the buyer and the seller. Selling is not one-sided. It is not a process for the salesperson only. It is a methodology of discovering what problem or concern the buyer has, then assisting in solving that problem or concern.
So, You're Newto Saies introduces the Sales P.R.O.C.E.S.S. Formula of professional selling. This is a step-by-step methodology addressing the seven steps necessary to sell with confidence and competency. Whether you are selling a tangible product or an intangible service, the Sales P.R.O.C.E.S.S. will serve you well. The reason is that this process allows the salesperson to focus on the prospect and his or her needs, issues and concerns. YouTI enjoy greater sales success when implementing this process.
The process is outlined below. You may be using a similar process. However, the seven-step process below forms the acrostic "PROCESS." Each of the steps is a link in the process that provides a methodology to move to the next step. By knowing where you are in the process, and knowing where the prospect is in the process, you have a better chance of successfully reaching a favorable conclusion.
This book illustrates a specific sales process intended for those in the relationship sales environment. In other words, it works very effectively for environments conducive to establishing relationships, building long-term partnerships, and continuing to service and sell into existing accounts. At the same time, it provides an effective model for driving new business and replacing competitive installations.
Principle #2: You make more money solving problems than you do by selling products!
The only time a commissioned salesperson earns money is when he or she assists a prospect in improving his or her situation. It may be assisting the prospect in reducing stress, making or saving money, providing peace of mind, etc.
When you solve problems for prospects, you become a hero to them. You become a great resource to that person. To be a successful problem solver, you need to be others-focused. That is, you must pay attention to the other person’s needs, issues, concerns, challenges. If you can identify those areas and then place the prospect in a position to solve them, the money will follow.
Principle #3: Prospects do things for their reasons, not your reasons!
As similar as prospects are, they also have major differences. Some people may purchase your solutions for monetary gain, others for prestige, and still others for the convenience and ease your solution offers. It is imperative you uncover the reason a person would exchange money for your product or service. In chapter six on “Open a Dialogue to Uncover Needs” you will learn to identify those reasons.
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Principle #4: When selling yourself, you must believe in your product.
Your sales success depends on how you present yourself. Do your prospects see you as a poised, professional individual? Or, do they see you as a person who is uncomfortable and lacking confidence? Zig Ziglar claims that selling is nothing more than a transference of feeling. If you can transfer how you feel about your solution to the prospect, you’ll have a customer for life.
The prospect buys you before buying your plan. You must first have that inner belief that you deserve to achieve the sale. Then you must believe that you can assist the prospect in improving his present situation. When you have that inner belief, that inner confidence, that belief you are worthy of success, your chances for success are greatly increased. This issue is addressed throughout So, You’re New to Sales.
Principle #5: To be convincing to others, you must first be convinced yourself!
You can’t give away something you don’t possess. Therefore, you must be convinced your product or service is superior to the competition. No, I am not saying that you have to have the perfect solution. Perfect solutions usually don’t exist. However, you must have a deep belief that your solution is the best fit for the prospect’s needs.
Many years ago, I was selling a product I did not believe in. You guessed it, I did not sell it often. The product was dictation equipment. Since I didn’t use dictation equipment for my correspondence, I didn’t have a deep belief in the benefits of the product. Consequently, I did not sell it. However, once I began to use the equipment, I began to see the advantages it offered. It saved time and energy when I produced proposals and letters. I began to believe and I began to sell dictation equipment. You have to believe.
Principle #6: If it is to be, it is up to me.
Selling is a very personal activity. If you work hard you will be rewarded. If you do not work hard, you will not be rewarded.
Principle #7: Pressure selling is caused by a lack of prospects.
Prospects are the lifeblood of any sales organization. For new salespeople, prospects are the foundation on which to build a career. Most new salespeople don’t receive a long list of existing clients. Therefore, it is important to always build your “prospect funnel.” That is, create a list of potential buyers.
When you have a short list of prospects, you put pressure on those people to buy from you. That is not the reputation you want to create in the marketplace. If you have a short list of prospects, I don’t want to be on that list. Why? Because you are going to call me all the time, you are going to push to meet with me. By always having a long list of prospects, you have more people to contact and you put less pressure on the ones on your list.
A key point about prospecting: you are always prospecting. You are not always selling, but you are always searching for potential buyers.
Principle #8: Your customers don’t buy what you do; they buy whatyou can do for them
This concept will be covered in “Sell the Value.” In that chapter the strategy of selling values, advantages, and benefits is addressed. These have to be sold from the perspective of the prospect. Once you identify what the person wants, you can then present how your solutions meet those needs.
Principle #9: You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want!
Zig Ziglar built his entire career on this simple, yet powerful
