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The basics of preparedness for most sales pursuits are: (1) having a breadth and depth of knowledge about the prospect and the sales opportunities the prospect represents; (2) strong leveraging points; (3) anticipation of a prospect's responses to your presentation, and consideration of any peripheral issues that could impact achieving the sale; (4) a step-by-step vision for securing the sale; (5) a fallback approach for reengaging a waning prospect. Sales professionals are prepared to engage and nurture sales opportunities. Sales representatives mindlessly go through the motions of call, meet, and follow-up without sufficient preparation. Sales is a numbers game for the sales representative who hopes that eventually something will come from "all of my work." Preparing a salesperson to engage in a sales pursuit requires an investment of time and materials from the business owner. If the business owner or sales manager isn't supporting her/his salespeople in the activities essential for selling in today's world, both the business and the rep will typically lose in competitive selling situations involving competition that is better prepared. Sales representatives can improve their preparedness by asking and answering for themselves questions such as: 1. What data might help me engage and intrigue my prospect? 2. What is the main objective of my meeting with this prospect? 3. What possible issues might be influencing my prospect's buying decision? 4. How can I create desire for my product in my prospect? 5. What questions might my prospect ask me and how will I answer? 6. What hurdles can I anticipate between where the sale is now and finalizing the sale? 7. How will my presentation help my prospect understand the value I offer? Investment A sales rep rarely considers what his/her sales pursuits cost her/his employer. Profitability is not a consideration for the rep. Sales reps see a sale simply as a sale, and their effort in any sales work as equally valuable. Sales professionals are more valuable to employers and will consistently outperform sales reps by simply knowing where and how to invest their skills. Professionals know which prospects to pursue, when and why a sales pursuit should be abandoned, how to negotiate and achieve profitable transactions, and strive to improve their skills in order to maximize profits from their endeavors. Sales representatives can improve their value as salespeople by periodically questioning themselves: 1. Am I on-track for reaching my goals, and, if not, how will I change that status? 2. What overall value does this sales pursuit represent to me and my employer? 3. What priority should I give this pursuit in helping achieve my goals? 4. How does the work I'm doing right now rank in helping achieve my goals? 5. What can I do in order to increase my productivity and ensure reaching my goal?
Skills Salespeople must develop a multitude of skills in order to consistently bring sales opportunities to fruition. Sales reps often neglect developing their skills. Sales representatives and sales professionals, therefore, vary to the extent that they diverge in possessing the skills required to sell most effectively. Consider the components of most sales work and their respective demands: Conducting research - Requires resourcefulness and creativity Qualifying - Requires logic, and breadth and depth of specific (industry) knowledge Setting appointments - Requires technique proficiency, discernment, and assertiveness Presenting - Requires strategy formulation, positioning, and presentation skills Nurturing business - Requires patience, resourcefulness, persistence, creativity, and subtlety Selling professionally requires a multitude of skills working synergistically. Those who possess and refine such skills become top performers. Most people employed in sales, however, do not improve their skills, and thus, remain ill equipped to succeed consistently. When striving to improve the sales of your company, understand which skills are required to meet your specific challenges. Consider your sales methodology. Understand the rationale behind what you are practicing and require the same exercise from your salespeople. The greatest sales skill that you can develop is the depth of your thinking. Sales professionals are deep thinkers about sales situations and, therefore, are more capable of figuring out how to effectively manage those situations in order to achieve success. Convert your sales reps into sales professionals with process-based sales training, performance standards, and appropriate support, and then enjoy greater sales success. Copyright 2011 esm4, Inc. All rights reserved