Set Up Yourself for Success in Sales

Jun, a Sales Counselor for a few months has been unsuccessful in his sales career. But he does not want to give up. He knows that a lot is still in store for him.

Jun can't blame the economy, the state of the industry, the competition or even the company itself for his failure because the reality is, there are people out there making money and Juan needs to be one of them, even you need to one of them.

Whether you have been in sales for a long period or even a few days from now, it's time to train. Competition is brutal, the economy is in chaos, and customers are stressed out from bogus salespeople out there. Tricks you may have in your sleeve in the past may be the cause of your failure now. You need new techniques and new way of doing things. Here are some magic tricks you may need work on:

SALES TRICKS THAT DOES NOT WORK (TODAY OR SOMETIME, ANYWAY)

In this new sales environment, your favorite magic tricks probably need to be replaced and make way for more effective sales approaches.

• SEDUCTION - Come on, you've done this. You tried smooth talking, flirtation even to form that immediate connection. Many books have been written about this. Seduction may come in the form of using charisma, compliments, revealing clothing, etc. Any method where your client falls for your smooth line is employing the use of seduction.
• DATABANK - You list a litany of features your product has. True, it's amazing, it's one of a kind, it's useless. Your customer quickly says "yes." Unfortunately luck plays a big part. Either the client heard something earlier that pushed up his hot buttons or he must have been tired of your endless ramblings that the best response is nod his head to get rid of you. But oftentimes results are you are talking yourself out of the sale.
• BOSS - You make it clear to the customer that you would not accept anything apart from a yes. You overpower your customer, your voice booms over the background and your customer has no escape but to nod his head in agreement.  This doesn't work on anyone though. For once, you will meet your match and for sure, you will have hangups, both on the phone and in person.
• HAPPY HORMONE INJECTION - Your enthusiasm and passion about the product injects the customer with the same eagerness for what you are offering. If you generate and sustain a high energy in the course of your sales call, you may compel your client to buy. Unfortunately, everyone has his bad days. Your effectiveness may be limited only on good days and of course, you may quickly exhaust also your customer who is having a bad day resulting again to a rejection.
• THE HELPER - You like everyone you meet. Perhaps clients will even look forward to your visits. You love to engage in business conversation, get to know them and know what they're at. You seem to be a good friend. But you are kicked in the face when your client says, "You know, I like you as a person. But the other company has what I needed. I'm sorry. Next time, I'll refer some business your way." People may like you as a friend but they buy from someone who can solve their problems. I'm not finished yet... :-)

Most of the sales that occur using these particular magic tricks happen because the particular customer situation matched your sales style. Some approaches are effective but you cannot pull them up everytime. You need a strategy so that you can CONSISTENTLY and DRAMATICALLY increase your closing rate.

In these challenging times, you do not need to have your magic trick work for you. You need to get all the customers, not just the ones that you have a natural rapport with.

To do this you have to make use of your sharp brain that contributed to your success in the first place and use it to apply methods that will close sales with any customers. You need to wear many hats by being able to size up a customer situation and make use of a technique matched with your customer. If you can't make your customers believe that you and your product is the solution to their problem, chances are you will contribute to the chaos of their already chaotic lives. But when you hit the sweet spot, engage the customer and listen to his problem, chances are, you may be running to the bank smiling.