Ways To Improve Your Selling
By Dave Lloyd
It has long been known that until something is sold, nothing else happens.
The selling profession is therefore one of the most challenging and most
profitable career paths one can choose. And for those with an innate ability to
sell, it can be gratifying and profitable from day one. Others, who may want the
income and freedom that comes from sales but who are not as naturally gifted,
will benefit from a few specific tips on their way to improving sales.
First, acknowledge what type of sales you're best at. Door to door business
to consumer, telemarketing, corporate business to business, and online are all
different ways of selling. And while most salespeople must focus intensely on
prospecting and business development, many in the corporate business to business
sales world are responsible for closing million dollar deals in partnership with
others at their company who generate the lead. Once you've narrowed down the
type of sales you're best at, which may take years as you progress through your
sales career, there are some additional resources that could help you.
Sales coaching is a new form of improving your sales. You partner weekly
with a veteran salesperson outside of your company who works with you on
specific techniques, motivations, scripts, behavioral training, or attacks the
call reluctance or lack of confidence you may feel in your role. The sales coach
is your advocate, someone who has experience working with many types of
salespeople and can assist you with a perspective that only an unbiased third
party can provide.
Another resource is lead generation. Specifically, find, hire, or create a
method of generating more leads. Sales ultimately is a numbers game - the more
leads you have in your pipeline, the greater your chances of closing more deals.
If you can pay someone to generate more leads or create a direct marketing
method of generating interest, much of your hard work will be done for you. This
would free you up to focus on closing deals and generating income.
The final resource to consider is one not many people think of, but can be
tremendously valuable. This idea was first proposed by Ben Franklin and
popularized by BLANK in Think and Grow Rich. Create a mastermind of salespeople.
This requires some work up front but could pay great dividends, especially if
you don't compete directly and mutually respect each other. A group like this
could have various forms - you could be local to each other and meet weekly, or
connect online or by phone on a regular basis, you could all be part of the same
industry but sell in non-competitive territories, or you could hire a coach
among you to assist each of you in getting the most out of this process. It's
been proven time and again that a mastermind group of similarly driven and
focused salespeople could be one of the most beneficial things you do.
Regardless, if you're committed to sales success, you must continually
improve yourself using either motivational techniques, lead generation and
prospecting resources, or outside support from coaches or mastermind teams.
Dave Lloyd can be reached at publisheremail@gmail.com and has written an
online guide to improving your selling at
http://www.sellingshortcuts.com