{"id":2562,"date":"2020-05-12T12:08:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T17:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.kmbrian.com\/?p=2562"},"modified":"2020-12-04T17:22:24","modified_gmt":"2020-12-04T23:22:24","slug":"sales-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kmbrian.com\/blog\/sales-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Sales Skills Anyone Can Learn to Be a Great Salesperson"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Would you call yourself a born salesperson? It might feel like the ability to sell is something you\u2019re either born with or you\u2019re not, but according to some researchers<\/a>, everyone is technically \u201cin sales.”<\/p>\r\n

Sure, we\u2019re not Ready to get started? We\u2019ve put together thirteen practical skills anyone can learn. Practice them, improve them, and master them all trying to find new customers to buy a product. But if you\u2019ve ever tried to convince a kid to go to bed or a shop to give you a discount, you\u2019ve been selling all along.<\/p>\r\n

Of course, the sales skills that are needed when you actually work in sales require more targeted effort. But while we all have our own natural aptitudes, anyone can learn to become better at influencing others \u2013 which is, in essence, what selling is really all about.<\/p>\r\n

These are the “soft” sales skills that have less to do with sales tactics and more to do with the way you act, and how you approach a prospect or a sale.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/div>\r\n

15 Sales Skills<\/h2>\r\n
    \r\n
  1. Find your comfort level<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  2. Learn to habit stack<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  3. Get strategic about prospecting<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  4. Become an industry expert<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  5. Supercharge your communication<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  6. Stay on the radar<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  7. Harness your empathy<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  8. Be a team player<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  9. Always persevere<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  10. Learn to be flexible<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  11. Become a master negotiator<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  12. Foster curiosity<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  13. Hone your organization skills<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  14. Be a useful contributor on social media<\/a><\/li>\r\n
  15. Keep your CRM clean<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    1. Find your comfort level\"\"<\/h2>\r\n

    If “To Sell Is Human” author Daniel Pink<\/a> is correct, everyone is a salesperson. Even so, nobody wants to come across as the stereotypical used car salesperson. Instead, you want to sell in ways that make you feel comfortable with what you\u2019re doing (and that let you sleep easy at night).<\/p>\r\n

    That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to find your sales personality<\/a> and understand what makes you proud to do your job \u2013 and what makes you feel ‘sleazy’.<\/p>\r\n

    How to do it<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n

    If you have to pick just one area to focus on from this article, concentrate on becoming comfortable in your sales role. You could learn every other skill on this list and then some, but if you\u2019re an insecure, nervous salesperson, you might never have the chance to try them out.<\/p>\r\n

    To start, you need a product, company, or service you believe in. It\u2019s difficult to sell something if you don’t. After all, if it\u2019s clear you don\u2019t really believe what you\u2019re saying to a potential customer, why should they buy in?<\/p>\r\n

    So figure out what it is that excites you about your product or service, and then focus on genuinely helping people who need what it offers. If you frame your sales process<\/a> in this way \u2013 helping people with problems your product can solve\u2013- the whole thing is likely to feel much easier.<\/p>\r\n

    Then, practice, practice, and practice some more. With on-the-job experience and a product you believe in \u2013 and the self-confidence and authenticity that come from both \u2013 you\u2019ll soon find that selling is something you like and<\/em> are good at.<\/p>\r\n

    2. Learn to habit stack<\/h2>\r\n

    To be an effective salesperson, you have to manage your time, which you can do by implementing systems into your day. Systems work especially well for sales, as the typical sales process occurs in multiple stages and responds well to compartmentalization.<\/p>\r\n

    Think in terms of prospect, prepare, approach, present<\/em>, etc.<\/p>\r\n

    <\/p>\r\n

    Image Source<\/a><\/p>\r\n

    How to do it<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    Over time, systems will begin to emerge from your work. Some steps in the system will occur so frequently that they\u2019ll become habits naturally. You probably already have some examples of this at home \u2013 for instance, maybe you always put your clean dishes away while waiting for your coffee to brew in the morning.<\/p>\r\n

    You have habits like this in your work too, but you can supercharge them by adopting habit stacking<\/a> \u2013 basically, linking everyday habits together so that they’re always performed sequentially. You could, for instance, make it a habit to always open your CRM or email marketing system when you turn on your computer in the morning. Once that habit is established, add more layers until you have a productive daily sales routine.<\/p>\r\n

    This should be done gradually. But if you do it right, you\u2019ll have multiple essential sales tasks taken care of by the time your coffee\u2019s cool enough to drink.<\/p>\r\n

    3. Get strategic about prospecting<\/h2>\r\n

    Strategic prospecting is a cross between prospecting and lead qualification<\/a>. For this article, we\u2019re defining prospecting as the process of adding possible targets to your sales funnel, and lead qualification as assessing these possible customers for suitability. The great news is that if you’re more strategic about the way you do your prospecting, you\u2019ll have less work to manage at the lead qualification stage.<\/p>\r\n

    According to sales strategist and author Marc Wayshak<\/a>, at least 50% of your prospects are not<\/em> a good fit for what you\u2019re selling. In the interest of becoming more efficient, learning to be laser-focused on only the 50% who are<\/em> will save you both time and effort.<\/p>\r\n

    How to do it<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    Your prospecting will get more strategic through education and experience \u2013 unfortunately, there\u2019s no real shortcut here. The more time you spend refining your process<\/a>, incorporating wisdom from the greats, and reflecting on your own successes and failures, the better you\u2019ll become at strategic prospecting.<\/p>\r\n

    That said, you can speed up the process using technology. There are tools on the market<\/a> that will help tactically, by finding email addresses<\/a> or scheduling follow-ups<\/a>, for example. Adopt these into your process as you continue to refine your strategic prospecting abilities.<\/p>\r\n

    4. Become an industry expert<\/h2>\r\n

    The benefits of becoming recognized as an industry expert are huge, especially in sales. Not only is your industry expertise likely to be linked to the product you\u2019re selling (and familiarity with your product\/service is an excellent way to become more comfortable in a sales role), it\u2019ll also get you in front of new audiences and new potential clients.<\/p>\r\n

    How to do it<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

    There are many routes that people have taken to become industry experts (aka, \u201cthought leaders\u201d). For many, it simply followed as a result of their life\u2019s work in a certain profession, often coupled with a naturally outgoing personality. Others have actively worked to create a sense of \u201cindustry expertise\u201d as part of their marketing efforts.<\/p>\r\n

    Either way, start by making sure you \u201ctalk the talk\u201d (in other words, that you truly possess some expertise that\u2019s of use to others). Then, look for ways to share that information<\/a> with the people who need it, such as speaking engagements, blog posts, on key landing pages<\/a>, interviews, and podcasts (either as a host or guest).<\/p>\r\n

    <\/p>\r\n

    Image Source<\/a><\/p>\r\n

    5. Supercharge your communication<\/h2>\r\n

    A quick look at articles about improving sales will show you that copywriting, oral communication, and social media are all thought to be crucial to your success as a salesperson<\/a>. They are, but there are two other overarching skills that bring these ways of communicating together and provide coherence throughout the sales process: storytelling and EQ.<\/p>\r\n

    Together, these two qualities offer a way to guarantee that your message is meeting its target, and that you can manage any outcome of this communication \u201con the fly.” After all, learning sales dialogues is one thing. Coming out on top when a potential client throws you a curveball is quite another.<\/p>\r\n

    How to do it<\/strong><\/p>\r\n