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Basic Sales Techniques

Basic Sales Techniques

To be successful in selling requires you to learn and use basic sales techniques. Products don’t sell themselves, salespeople do. These sales techniques don’t come via your DNA, they come from continuous learning and years of experience.

But if you learn the right skills and techniques and take the time to practice them regularly, you can sell anything.

Selling, like art, is all about perception. When you show the value of your product you won’t have to defend its price. Don’t start selling until you have uncovered a problem that your product can offer a solution for.

Here are some basic sales techniques you can use to sell just about everything. These techniques, however, require you to be passionate about the products you’re selling.

Buyers buy products not because they are excited, they buy products because the sales person is excited.

No sales technique will work if you are not committed to the products you’re selling. Your sales prospects and customers can tell when you are not genuinely enthusiastic about the products you’re selling.

Bottom line – if you can’t get excited and passionate about your products, please don’t expect your customers to get excited – it just won’t happen.

Another basic sales technique you should adopt is to always use the words “You” and “Your” when discussing your products. You can't use these words too often.

Doing this ties your products to your customers, so that they can picture themselves owning your products. If you use words like “I” or “he/she” you don’t create the same effect.

In a sense you’re transferring ownership when you say “You” and “Your” when you’re talking to sales prospects and customers about your products.

Another good basic sales technique is to let the sales prospect handle the product. For example, if you’re selling computers, invite your prospect to use the computer so you can demonstrate the key features and benefits.

If you’re selling cars, ask your sales prospect to take it for a test drive.

If you’re selling Cessna Citation Jets, invite your sales prospect to sit up front with the pilot for a test flight.

Another fundamental sales technique is to ask really good open-ended sales questions to uncover problems that your products can solve. This is what selling is all about. It’s not about selling, it’s about helping someone to make the right buying decisions.

Selling isn’t about convincing and persuading – it’s about understanding what your sales prospect needs and wants and helping him to get it. And for Pete's sake don't talk too much. The more you talk during a sales call the more you run the risk of sounding "Pathetic."

Another sales technique involves being well informed about your customers, your competition and even your own company and the products you sell.

Now, how in the world can you do this without committing to a 24/7 work schedule? Google makes this real easy for you. Go here to check this invaluable sales tool out for yourself. http://www.google.com/alerts

When you get to this page enter the names of your biggest sales prospects, customers, and competitors. Anytime anything at all is written about them – you’ll get an e-mail with a link to the article.

It’s simply a great way to become well informed on the things that matter most to you.

Finally, always have a positive attitude. Remove the words “Can’t” and “Impossible” from your dictionary. And if you don’t own a dictionary go buy one fast. The ultimate resource for salespeople is words. How can you not own a dictionary?

Not all of your customers are going to buy your products. That’s life. But every sales prospect has the potential to become a future customer – so be careful not to burn any bridges with a poor attitude.

Remember – in sales you get what you expect so always expect the best outcomes on all sales calls.





Basic Sales Techniques - To learn more about this author, visit Jim Meisenheimer's Website.

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David Acheson
David Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns.  David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website

Dave Kurlan
Dave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website

Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website

Linda Richardson
Linda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website

John Brennan
John Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website

George Ludwig
George Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website

Anne Barr
Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website


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Jim Meisenheimer
(Visit Jim's Website)

Jim Meisenheimer is the creator of the Sales Trailblazer V.I.P.Selling Club for entrepreneurs and professional salespeople which provides innovative sales training for sales trailblazers - 24 lessons / 24 weeks delivered via email and MP3 files - pure gold!

Go here for more information: http://www.salestrailblazer.com



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