The 10 Best Tips for Selling Like a Pro

Your salespeople and their ability to connect, influence and persuade will give your business an advantage in today’s competitive marketplace. THIS IS Selling Like a Pro.

Your sales team is your biggest asset. For most companies, the single biggest source of a company’s revenue is generated through sales. If sales teams are not focusing on, investing in and sharpening their sales skills, that can cost close to millions in lost revenue.

These next 10 tips for selling like a pro come from my own experience training sales teams at a variety of levels.  

1. Uncover what the customer needs by active listening

To be a highly effective salesperson, you first have to uncover what the customer needs. It’s not just about the product features or the service you provide; sales success is about matching your product or service skilfully with the customer’s needs. The sooner you can get the customer to share their problems and frustrations with you, the sooner you can make that the main focus of your pitch. People just want to feel heard, and so does your customer.

2.  Be consistent

Some salespeople think they can show up to a customer unprepared, relying on wits and conversation skills to get them through. You can’t sell like a pro if this is your strategy. Being consistent is following a sales process. The key to success is consistently taking one step forward each day. Schedule time on a daily basis to follow up on leads and qualify them into prospects. Don’t wait until you have time or when business is quiet. Follow-up is essential at every phase of the selling process, from prospecting to closing the sale. This keeps the momentum going and reduces the likelihood of self-doubt creeping in, which could in turn stop you from making that call or sending that email. Keeping the sales pipeline full requires your daily attention.

3.  Product knowledge

Customers buy from salespeople who know and understand their products or services. Potential buyers want to be comfortable and confident that they aren’t making a mistake. Salespeople with great product knowledge pitch and present with more confidence and can answer questions on the spot. The degree of success of a salesperson is directly related to the knowledge of the product and service they have. It is critical therefore to train your salespeople on what they’re selling.

4.  State your price with confidence

Professional salespeople defend the value and not the price. Average salespeople discount as a first option because they don’t know how to explain the value. State your price with confidence and explain the reason why the value meets or exceeds the price. Professional salespeople know how to overcome price challenges and objections. More discounts are given away or sales are lost because the salesperson doesn’t believe in their own price due to the demands of the customer. They sell volume but give away most of the GP. When you give your price, make sure you speak confidently, have solid body language, a strong voice, and good eye contact. After stating your price, immediately state two positive reasons and an advantage.

5.  Know how to manage your own time

The most valuable asset you have as a salesperson is not just what you sell; it’s managing your own time. Far too much time is wasted preparing to sell, thinking about selling, getting ready to sell, worrying about the sale, etc. You have one main objective — spend as much of your time as possible by being in contact with prospects and customers on a regular basis. This includes over-the-phone and face-to-face. Keep the number of distractions to a minimum, plan your day ahead of time and prioritise; this will give you the best results. If you manage your own time properly, it boosts your productivity and leaves you feeling satisfied with what you have accomplished at the end of the day.

6.  Spend less time on people who aren’t motivated buyers

It might be a prospect who is nothing more than a suspect or someone who is merely easy to talk to, but the issue is the same — wasted effort. The sooner you qualify the person you’re speaking to, the better off both you and the prospect will be. If you spend less time on people who aren’t motivated buyers you will be able to spend more time on buyers who are genuinely interested in what you are selling. It’s helpful to know how to read a customer’s body language if you are face to face and listen closely to what the customer is communicating to you. Sometimes it’s as simple as asking the customer how serious are they to purchase right now and other trial closing questions.

7.  Would you like fries with that?

Professional salespeople have the ability to upsell customers because they’ve listened (refer to number 1) and know their products and services’ additional offerings (refer to number 3). Average salespeople leave money on the table and feel uncomfortable asking for more. If you are in sales, always add more value to buyers and inform them what else you can offer them. This helps to create bulk buying, better negotiation and ultimately more profits.

8.  Positive and optimistic

To sell like a pro, you need a positive outlook and an unshakable belief in your skills and abilities to make sales. Positive salespeople speak with conviction, certainty and creativity without being forceful or arrogant. Salespeople who are not positive or optimistic come across as hesitant, uncertain and unskillful, hence the reason why they struggle with sales.

9.  Goal-oriented and personally motivated

Goal-driven salespeople are more focused, more motivated and more results-oriented. They constantly drive themselves to achieve their targets and know what is required from them. They continuously set new and higher goals for themselves and don’t wait for others to push them. Low-performing salespeople always need to be managed and encouraged to do their job. If you want your salespeople to perform, constantly set goals and communicate the target with your team and make it visible.

10.  Constantly look for new opportunities and prospects

Average salespeople are order-takers. This means they rely on their marketing and wait for the phone to ring or an enquiry through their website. Professional salespeople make an effort to search for new opportunities and prospects who will buy from them. They are described as “rain-makers”. So if you want to sell like a pro, you have to generate sales by actively using your creativity to find new business.