Salespeople play a crucial role in businesses. They are like the bridge that connects customers to the company’s products or services. Thus, without their efforts, businesses would make minimal or no sales. Since salespeople are mostly paid based on performance, closing many deals by the end of the month benefits both the company and the employee. The more you achieve, the greater your bonuses and commissions will be. So how can you become a better salesperson to earn more and give maximum value to your employer? Consider the following tips.
1. Invest in Education
You can easily get a sales job without a degree, but furthering your education adds some value to your career. With a marketing or any other business-related degree, you gain knowledge and learn some essential skills that can be useful to your career now and in the future. And, there are some companies that hire only people with degrees. Thus, to avoid missing out on such opportunities, consider investing in your education.
You could also get better paying jobs when you have a degree. This article by Aston University shows an estimate of degree salaries for online MSc. holders. Thanks to advances in technology, you don’t even have to go back to school full time to get your bachelor’s or master’s. There are numerousonline-based business courses for those who want to grow their careers without attending school full time.
Other than degrees, you can also consider salesperson certification short courses. These too can equip you with skills and knowledge and improve your employability.
2. Hone Your Soft Skills
Working on your soft skills is another step you can take to become a better salesperson. Even with extensive technical knowledge, you can easily fail to meet your targets if you don’t know how to carry yourself and interact with others well. Some of the soft skills you should work on include communication skills, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, confidence, persistence, time management, empathy, self-motivation, collaboration, positive attitude, research and problem solving among others.
3. Product Knowledge
You won’t sell well if you don’t know what you are selling. Therefore, take your time to learn more about the product features, advantages, and shortcomings, if any. When you know a lot about the product, it will be easy to build trust with the customers because they will perceive you as an expert. Extensive product knowledge is also essential in targeting the right customers.
4. Know Your Customers
It’s not enough to know the product; you should take your time to know the target customers as well. Focusing your efforts on everybody will bear minimal fruit at the end of the day. You need to know the specific segment in the market you should be targeting. When you do that, you make more sales and waste less time on people who are not interested in buying your products.
5. Offer Solutions
What customer need or problem does your product solve? Try and make that the basis of your selling. Instead of telling the customer about your product, look at their need and then offer them a solution. When you offer a solution, the target will be enticed to listen more to what you have to offer. This can lead to more sales and in the process, you create good relationships with the customers.
6. Have a Sales Process
If you don’t already have one, work on it immediately. Research shows that companies that do have a structured sales process actually perform better than those that don’t. A structured sales process can improve efficiency, boost revenue and it gives you an overview of what’s working and what’s not. It is easy to improve your performance when you have a formal sales process.
7. Get Feedback
A successful salesperson takes time to listen to what customers have to say. Pay attention to the issues they highlight when you have conversations. Also, don’t hesitate to ask for feedback both from potential customers as well as existing customers. And when the feedback is good, ask for referrals.
8. Know When to Walk Away
Every person that you interact with will not turn out to be your customer. Instead of spending so much time pursuing someone who shows no signs of conversion, know when to quit and focus on other potentials.
Most importantly, take good care of your physical and mental health. As you work hard to earn more, don’t overdo things to the extent thatyou neglect your health and wellbeing. Work as much as you can, but leave enough time to rest and sleep, spend with your family and friends, focus on your hobbies, exercise and have fun. Take breaks too to travel once in a while to explore the world and get a different perspective on things.
Article Submitted By Community Writer
