Professional Selling Skills Training: The Sales Call and Sincerity

I talk a lot about having passion in what you do and in serving your customers. After speaking to a group about having passion in sales earlier this week, a person in the audience mentioned how important it is to also be sincere. Without a doubt, sincerity is essential! I run into a lot of sales people who come across as if they really care when, in reality, they could care less. This is where I believe it can become very difficult for a sales person. You can overcome this by taking the time to determine what are the key drivers for the customer and what their short and long-term objectives are.

It's rather ironic that if a sales person takes the time the time to truly understand the customer, then they not only will be able to be viewed as sincere, but, in the end, they will achieve a higher level of profit with the customer. The more a sales person is able to fulfill the needs and objectives of the customer, the more likely they will be to sell their goods or services at a price that yields a higher margin.

In my book, the sales person who is truly sincere with their customers will achieve a higher level of profit over a longer period of time than one who shows no concern for the real interests of the customer.

Professional Selling Skills Training: Selling With Voicemail

Here's a quick sales tip regarding voicemail:

If you're going to leave a voicemail message, avoid using a bluetooth device or any other type of headset. I'm amazed at the number of voicemail messages that are extremely hard to hear and/or understand. The vast majority of time, this is due to the use of portable headsets, etc. If you're doing any kind of prospecting through voicemail messages, you're already at a disadvantage because the majority of them will not be returned. So, why make it any harder on yourself? Use a headset when initially making the call, but when you get sent to voicemail, reach for the handset to ensure the message is as clear as possible. (By the way, to the the three of you who left me voicemail messages today, sorry but there's no way I could decipher who you are or what you were trying to sell me.)

Sales Training Tip #173: Be Intriguing

Does what you say when you introduce yourself to someone beg them to want to know more about you? Consider how you can make them more intrigued when they are formulating their first impression of you.