Why many sales people need to learn how to sell again

Friday, 25 April 2014 01:16 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Dr. Mike Heah You probably would have experienced many disappointing times as a prospect when wanting to buy something from an establishment. You probably had been to a department store where the sales assistant showed the least or an over enthusiastic eagerness to get you to buy; or in a motor show room where a pushy salesman tried to push to you a particular car model that you had repeatedly told him that you were not interested. In both these occasions, whether it is you or another prospect, the decision to buy would probably be a flat “No”. There are still many of such sales people like these ones around these days. In fact, I feel that there are more of these “non-sensitive” ones than “sensitive” ones around. To them, they believe that the best way to sell is to out talk the prospects so that they will be “impressed” with their confidence and knowledge that will cow them into buying. This is where they need to unlearn their old selling ways and relearn the new ones. The new selling way is learning the two pillars of power conversation, which is knowing when to shut up and listen deeply to what the buyer is saying and then ask inquiry questions to find out more about them. They also need to discard the myth that keeping quiet reflects their weakness and makes them docile that cause them to miss the big catch. Traditional sellers need to accept the hard reality that their old ways of selling have gone into the archives of history. The new reality is people think and behave differently in the world of internet, social networking and smartphones. Today, the new generation of people does not want to feel pressured into buying; they do not want to feel that they have been sold! Try to recall those times when you buy from someone. What made you buy from them? To many who were asked the same question, the similar responses were usually pointed to one common remark that “I trust them”. So this is where “high trust selling” rules today in the modern world of successful selling. The key driver of high trust selling lies with the seller working on building of rapport and trust with the buyer first before the selling of their products or services. So what are the ways to do this? The seller listens very attentively (as the prospect does more of the talking) so that they can accurately identify their needs that they want to fulfil. Questions are being asked to find out the answers to their real needs. This makes the buyer feels comfortable because the seller shows care and sincerity to their well-being. Listening to their real needs also mean that you give them what they really want even if this falls short of what you may have intended to sell to them. The high trust sales professional is confident (and not disappointed) that this show of sincerity will go well for them in the future because a strong bond has being built between them already. In high trust selling, the seller does not push nor manipulate by trying to “create a need”. To put it simply, they do not apply selling pressure on them to buy but instead wait for the “buying pressure” from the buyer who is now so empowered to buy from them. The sales close is already happening when trust is being built as the buyer begins to get more and more comfortable with the seller. Unlike traditional selling, there is little need to ask for the sales order. One final feature of high trust selling is about working and adjusting the seller’s personality to suit the buyer’s personality and buying style. Certainly, there is no one selling style that suits everyone nor is there one size that suits all. They know that people come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There are some who want lots of details before buying and there are some who buy based on their gut feeling as well as there are some who buy to please others more than to please themselves. Whichever way they are, a high trust sales person has full cognisance of this through studying and observing who they are and what they like best, and then find the best ways to “flow” with them. So the new learning for every sales person is to be always mindful to sell themselves first before they sell their products and services.