Everyone sells! That’s right not just you or your salespeople. Any of your employees who interact with a customer in ANY way is involved in sales. Did that just make you nervous? Well don’t worry about it. Once we’re done walking you through these time-tested skills, you’ll understand that anyone in your company can become great at selling. As a matter of fact I challenge you to pick someone in your business who you think is the worst person at selling EVER and go through this guide with them. Encourage them to really understand these keys because it will not only help them in their life, it will make your business more successful. If that person is coachable, you will watch them blossom with confidence and poise as they begin to feel empowered and successful. You will master these techniques because we all learn better when we have to teach something. 

These keys have been proven over and over again to not only be keys to communicating effectively, but they are also going to ensure that you and your employees close business and drive sales. So without further delay, here they are:

1) Attitude is Everything.

One of the principles to a successful customer interaction is to build a relationship/rapport with the client or customer

2) Take the Lead.

There is a delicate line between aggressive and assertive. A salesperson that is of the “consultative” mind will assert themself and take the lead. Remember, we are assuming that because this customer has called you or come into your place of business that they WANT to do business with you. Why else would they be there?

 3) Ask the Right Questions and Listen Actively.

 It means asking questions and helping a customer make wise decisions based on their needs versus traditional sales approaches that can feel pushy to the customer. The employee may still be doing much of the talking, but they are strategic in asking questions and listening actively. Open-ended questions get the customer talking, sometimes even selling themselves. Would that make things easy!?

4) Discover the Real Motivation.

When asking questions, listen and acknowledge the responses. This approach creates a true dialogue with a customer and allows us to build relationship, rapport, and trust while learning what matters most to the customer. You are essentially solving a mystery. What is their real motivation? What are they really looking for and why are they really talking to you.

5) Personalize Where Possible.

 Building value is an essential step as a sales consultant because it is very important to position yourself, first and foremost in your customer’s mind, as the authority; the expert; the industry leader; or the company with the best solution (i.e. the one that offers the most value or has a unique advantage over your competition). Once you establish the best solution, you can tell them how that solution would work best for them.

6) Check Their Temperature.

 A trial close is a very valuable sales technique that enables you to do a temperature check as to your level of rapport with the customer and the customer’s overall receptiveness. A trial close ensures you are getting “buy-in” along the way and that you are on the right track in your customer’s mind. It also enables you to formulate your questions and your approach based on periodic, real-time feedback throughout your conversation. There are two main types of trial closes: open-ended and close-ended.

7) Get a Commitment.

 Getting a commitment is the actual solution to the problem. If the customer gets off the phone or leaves your place of business without a solution we have failed to accomplish our objective. (Remember they wanted to buy from you, right?)

Utilizing these 7 keys during a customer interaction will ensure that your employees take a consultative approach to earning business, instilling confidence in you and your business and keeping your customers happy all the way through their experience.
 

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