11 ADVANCED TIPS FOR EXPERIENCED SALESPEOPLE

When you see experienced sales people in action, you will recognize them. The way they act, react, speak and perform will make you recognize them. Recognizing them is easier when you see them carrying out their job. They do their job with precision and absoluteness; they hardly make mistakes when it comes to customer’s issues. When you meet an experienced salesperson, know that you have met someone who has gone through it all.

You might want to be an experienced sales person someday. If that is the case, you should want to take note of these steps:

1. View yourself and your customer as equal professionals.

Too many sales people see themselves as less-than-equal to the decision maker to whom they are trying to sell. It can be for any number of reasons, but that attitude needs to be eliminated right away. You need to convey to the buyer that you, too, are professional and that your time is valuable. This attitude will convey a sense of confidence that will translate into the buyer’s confidence in you.

2. Be thinking about getting customers instead of deals.

Your sales growth will come from repeat business or recurring revenue from your existing customer base. You can make promises to close one deal but that’s not how you build a business. You should be confident of how satisfied your customer will be one month or one year after the first sale. Make sure you aren’t making promises your company’s bank account can’t keep. It may mean shorter term gains but it translates into happier, longer-term customers and profits.

3. A desire to be better than the competition.

No mistake about it, the top performing rep is the one who does not like to lose. This is great as long as you don’t point those fangs internally. Everyone likes to win. It’s OK to hate losing to the competition and hate coming in second place. As the saying goes, “there is no money for second place in sales.” Until you embrace this concept, you will never have that sense of urgency that’s needed to close sales.

4. A desire to get better and learn.

Sales people, like other professionals, need the drive to become the best at their craft. With the web, e-books, podcasts, email newsletters, etc., it is easy to find relevant, well-designed sales training. A lot of this training is free. Take the initiative and find those resources. Set time aside every day for your own regularly scheduled training and professional development session. Your sales results will leave your competition wondering how you keep winning the deals.

5. Learn to really listen.

Everybody talks about the importance of listening, but few people hear anything. Most sales reps are so anxious to either get their pitch out or want to answer a question before it is finished being asked, that they never really “absorb” the question. A good rule to follow is to wait three seconds before answering even if you know the answer. That, at least, gives the impression you’re listening. And, you actually may think of another, and maybe better, response while you pause!

6. Know where to draw the line.

Many customers will ask you for as much as they can get: Better pricing. More time to evaluate your product. Better terms. You need to determine where to “draw the line.” Several considerations can go into these concession decisions, and you will ultimately decide your final stance. However, you need to know when to say no.

7. Display Punctuality.

Being on time may seem like a small thing, but it sets the tone for how your company does business. Consciously or subconsciously, customers will understand you are a professional that shows up on time every day, for every call and for every meeting. This goes a long way toward building confidence toward a sale and ongoing account management.

8. Create and Refine a Process.

If your company has a sales playbook, you should be using it and not deviate from it at all. Having a well-defined process is your key to consistency. It will save you time in having to come up with an entirely new script, email, etc., every time a slightly different situation develops. Don’t forget: as a professional salesperson, you bill by the hour.

9. A good attitude.

If you do not have a good attitude, you have problems from the very start. A good, positive, sincere attitude can be contagious. A bad attitude will kill your sales and worse make your life and those around you, miserable. You can do a lot of things to help nurture a good attitude, but it’s basically up to you to have a positive, upbeat outlook. Sales people with constructive attitudes are ready to talk deals first thing in the morning and are always eager to learn. They usually don’t need coaxing and just want to get going.

1O.Know your product inside and out

Product and competitive knowledge just get you in the door. If you cannot explain and demonstrate the benefits of your product and why it is superior to the competition, you are not ready to be in front of a customer. This is not to say you have to know 100 percent of the information. Nobody does. But you do need to be able to get through the fundamentals of a demonstration, and completely deliver a benefit-oriented presentation.

11. Document every call.

The main thing computers do better than humans is remember. Whatever system you use for tracking customer interactions, you need to make sure you use every bit of it. Every phone conversation, meeting, presentation, etc., needs to be documented in your customer relationship management system. Additionally, it is a good idea to send a follow-up email or letter after a presentation, strategy, call or demonstration. It should document who was present, what was discussed and what the action items are for each party.

If you carry out your sales work with these tips, you will become experienced faster than you imagined.