Sales as both a career choice and a personal skill-set
requires the development of specific techniques, ongoing
personal development, the expansion of our comfort zone,
confidence, persistence, patience, gut-level instincts and
unlike most other professions, a thick skin!
Superficially, it looks like selling is a breeze; but any
experienced sales professional will tell you otherwise.
However, mastery of the previously mentioned skills will
afford you a profitable, fulfilling and rewarding sales
career in any economy, if you are willing to do the
required work.
Learning how to sell your ideas, to persuade others to your
way of thinking, may be the most important interpersonal
skill that one can develop. Many of our successes in life
hinge upon our interactions with others. Those personal
interactions depend upon the relationships we develop.
Those relationships are built by trust and integrity
expressed through effective communication between the
people involved.
Effective communication hinges upon our ability to sell our
ideas to others, to effectively convey our ideas in such a
manner that gains critical acceptance from others,
influencing their thinking and decision-making process. Are
you effectively communicating to your market the benefits
that only you provide?
The volatility of the present economic climate has left
many professionals and businesses, including salespeople,
in states of fear and uncertainty. We now have experienced
the largest number lost jobs in five years as businesses
are trimming people and shrinking their operations. How do
you sell in this environment? You must learn to expertly
and quickly qualify new prospects, seeking to offer the
highest possible value both there and to your existing
customers.
Selling is indeed a unique profession, combining one's
personal chemistry with precise direction. Today's business
climate demands greater focus and clarity from salespeople.
We cannot afford to be congenial generalists as that
mindset will not allow us access to key decision-makers. We
must become the expert in our field, being perceived as a
valuable resource, problem solvers and their go-to person.
Salespeople must filter their offering of products and
services, specializing with laser-like focus on one
particular solution that will be of greatest interest and
service to their marketplace.
Despite tighter credit, increasing unemployment, shrinking
production and other economic woes, many businesses will
remain a going-concern, requiring an ongoing influx of key
products and services to operate effectively. Your focus
must be at this level.
In the short term, selling almost anything will indeed be
tougher. Prospects and customers are busier, perhaps doing
the jobs of several people in prior times. It will become
more difficult to reach decision-makers, as their ready
availability declines. The "sales-men will be separated
from the boys" as they say. Many salespeople may not
weather the storm, yet wonderful opportunity remains for
those willing to adjust their strategy and tactics in this
ever-evolving economic situation.
Be strong. Be encouraged. Dig-in your heels and ride out
this storm. Those that do will emerge in a superb position
to prosper when the economy cycles back to growth mode.
Will you be one of those salespeople?
----------------------------------------------------
Daniel Sitter, author of both Learning For Profit and
Superior Selling Skills Mastery, has garnered extensive
experience in sales, training, marketing and personal
development spanning a successful 25 year sales career.
Experience his blog at http://www.idea-sellers.com
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