How can you increase your success and earnings in sales?
1 - A WINNING ATTITUDE A positive, “can do it” attitude is a key factor in sales success. People who have positive attitudes are consistently on time, smile, are disciplined and focus on how they can be successful rather than on the things that are preventing them from being successful. Companies appreciate people who have winning attitudes and “go the extra mile” by taking time to learn about their firm prior to their interview.
2 - WRITTEN GOALS Successful people develop written goals and review them on a regular basis. Family, career, financial, spiritual, social, mental and physical goals are all important to overall success. What these goals ultimately lead to is a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Indeed, having a clear picture of one’s goals and a burning desire to achieve them is a key factor in sales success.
3 - LISTENING SKILLS How did you respond to the last telemarketer who called you at home at night? Did that individual want to listen to you and your needs or want to talk to you and “sell” you something? World class salespeople resist the temptation to talk and, instead, spend time getting their prospective customers to talk and explain their needs. Being able to listen to customer needs, understand their personality types and respond with appropriate solutions is the hallmark of a good salesperson.
4 - SALES AND INTERPERSONAL SKILLS There are a variety of other key skills that salespeople need to be successful. The types of sales skills needed will vary according to the type of sales job position. Typical skills needed include: relationship building, prospecting, cold calling, qualification, active and reflective listening, probing, profiling, needs analysis, solutions presentation, objection handling and prevention, financial justification, closing and major accounts selling.
Studies show that people who improve their sales and people skills are more successful in their jobs and are less likely to switch jobs often. A recent report from several corporations, including Motorola, shows that companies who invest in sales training receive back $30 for every $1 they invest. Smart salespeople and companies recognize that a key to success is the proper training and tools.
Even experienced salespeople can benefit from on-going training as well. As buyers and purchasing agents have become more sophisticated, the sales techniques that worked 10 or even just 5 years ago may now be ineffective. Salespeople who don't keep up with current trends will lose the competitive edge that leads to sustained success.
5 - CONSTANT LEARNING Top salespeople attend programs where they can rehearse new sales approaches and receive feedback and coaching from six-figure salespeople/trainers. Many companies are now providing their salespeople with professional sales skills training. It is important to distinguish, however, between sales training that is product-oriented versus sales training that builds overall sales skills. Over 70% of all sales training is product training that only helps a salesperson sell specific products. Indeed, having that winning attitude, setting goals, listening to customers and acquiring new sales skills and techniques are key to getting an instant pay raise. So, are you ready to earn more money in sales?
Craig Arnoff is President of The Sales Alliance Inc., a San Diego based firm that helps salespeople and companies improve their earnings levels and sales effectiveness. The company’s website is at www.sales-alliance.com.
Boosting Your Personal Sales Results: Getting A Pay Raise - To learn more about this author, visit Craig Arnoff's Website.
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Craig Arnoff
(Visit Craig's Website)
Craig Arnoff holds Bachelor and Master's
degrees in Marketing, Finance and Business
Management. He is the author of
Cooperative Selling™ and Cooperative
Telephone Selling™, and has conducted
workshops for over 10,000 sales and
telesales professionals in the technology
and services industries. The firm, which
has been in business for 16 years,
specializes in helping clients boost sales
results via sales training, sales
management, coaching and consulting
programs.
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