The Art of Sales (And Tips On How To Manage Your Sales Team)

Selling. Cold calls, introductions, interviews, appointments, proposals, referrals, call cycles, building rapport, listening, asking for the order, overcoming objections, closing the sale, and rejection. There's a lot to know about the business of selling. No wonder many people are a bit overwhelmed when they are asked to do it.

And it's not a job for the faint-hearted. Selling is a communication-rich activity, with lots of verbal and non-verbal clues to simultaneously recognise, understand and respond to. It's a tough job looking after the interests of the customer and the company at the same time. Especially when you have to do this many times a day, every day.

The sales process does not usually proceed in a linear, one-way direction. The participants will often meander along paths filled with associated ideas, go back to items already discussed, find answers for problems (overcome objections) and explore the features and benefits offered. An effective selling style will display a relevant and appropriate personal manner combined with a strong focus on the required outcome.

On many occasions handling a sale is much like steering a boat across a strong current. There is a need to constantly assess the amount of 'drift', making minor adjustments to stay on course for the destination.

A skillful sales person can handle these diversions and carefully guide the prospect to recognise why they should make the decision to purchase 'this' product from 'this company'.

For those working outside the field of professional selling, it's common for the sales process, and sales people, to be misunderstood. Indeed, there are those who think of sales staff as being universally pushy, overbearing, and making the customer feel ill at ease.

However this type of behaviour is usually the result of inexperience or poor sales training. Over recent years the art of selling has been transformed into a process now often referred to as 'consultative selling'.

More than just a buzzword, consultative selling refers to the process of developing a clear understanding of your customers needs and following this with a logical presentation of how your product or service can help your customer be satisfied. In effect consulting with your client to determine their needs and develop a solution.

Modern, effective sales people have mastered the skill of identifying the needs of individual prospects, matching those needs with benefits offered by their product or service, and closing the sale by ensuring the customer can see real value in the deal being offered. It's a win-win result.

Throughout the process an experienced sales person will generate a level of trust with the customer that can stand the test of time.

Here are a few tips to help you manage your sales team:

* Respect the personal barriers they must overcome on a daily basis.

* Have a territory management plan in place.

* Provide appropriate supervision to ensure good sales practices are maintained.

* Ensure the customer has regular contact with other people (or departments) within your business other than the sales person.

* Comprehensively train your sales people on company procedures, their responsibilities and your expectations.

* Have a procedure for listening to, assessing, and acting upon feedback from people in the field.

* Avoid involving sales people in non-sales activities such as deliveries and collecting account payments. These tasks will undermine the sales relationship and will adversely impact on your sales results. Keep your sales person as the 'good guy'.

Selling is an art - the art of guiding the sales process to a mutually satisfying conclusion.

(c) 2005 MySalesTutor.com

Stuart Ayling is known as the 'Sales Tutor'. Stuart offers a unique sales training eCourse at MySalesTutor.com. This 16-day course give you the skills and confidence to handle any sales situation and close more sales. Stuart has developed this eCourse specially for independent professionals, service providers, and business owners, based on sales "best practices" and proven trust-based sales techniques.

---

The Benefits of Catalog Sales For Your Business

Things to watch out for when selling your product in... Read More

A Coachs Handbook For Sales Managers

This article may be reprinted in its entirety with express... Read More

The Hidden Competition: Avoiding the 2 Most Common Competitors

There are really only two types of competitor:1. Obvious2. HiddenThe... Read More

3 Ways to Increase Your Sales

Last week I got a call from Jose, who was... Read More

Hire A Six, To Consistently Produce Sales Success

For many years as a sales manager, I would only... Read More

10 Things to Help Your Business When Sales Are Slow During the Holidays

Twiddling your thumbs and waiting for some business to come... Read More

How to Maximize Account Penetration and Jump-Start Sales

Maximizing account penetration is one of the most critical functions... Read More

Ten Awesome Ways To Incease Your Sales In Holidays

Everybody thinks that the businesses will slow down a bit... Read More

8 Procedures to Take Control of Sales and Marketing

The Cash to Cash Cycle Part Three of SeriesWe're sprinting... Read More

How to Organize a Seminar or an Event

Seminars and events have always been implemented as a holistic... Read More

Small Business Marketing: Overtaking Your Competitors

Few businesses keep tabs on competitors, yet such knowledge can... Read More

14 Top Lead Generation Tactics

According to former Harvard Business School professor David Maister, typical... Read More

How Do I Manage Workplace Conflict?

Workplace ConflictConflict is an inevitable part of business life and... Read More

Franchise Sales; Recruiting of Laid Off Employees

Because of corporate downsizing, many people have been laid-off or... Read More

Offer Package Deals To Increase Profits And Sales

An effective way to increase your profits and sales is... Read More

The Hardest Job Of A Trade Show

You've heard this before: There were four people named Everybody,... Read More

Do You Know How to Fire Up Your Sales Staff (When Money Isnt Everything)?

Money is the only thing that motivates a salesperson, right?... Read More

Transforming Your Sales Force by Creating Specific Expectations

I just finished a phone call with a potential client... Read More

The Boss from Hell: Quick to Criticize, Slow to Praise

So you have a boss who dumps all over you... Read More

4 Marketing Myths Threaten Your Sales

These 4 marketing myths can cause you to lose sales... Read More

Raise Concern About Sales Competition, Not About Yourself

As you are reading this sales article, read very carefully.... Read More

Moving a Business Relationship from Free to Fee: Turning Strangers to Friends with Power of Freebies

In the last issue I shared with you a technique... Read More

How To Have A Successful Retail Sales Event

In the 30-plus years I spent working in advertising and... Read More

How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Sales Performance -- Part 1

Business executives and sales managers frequently bemoan "80/20" performance on... Read More

Sales Competence Isn?t About Quota Performance!

Compounding the problem are two myths regarding measures of competency... Read More

Your Extended Shadow And Successful Sales Management

In a small midwestern town, the local high school of... Read More

Sales Pipeline Forecasting Is There A Better Way?

To put it mildly most companies sales forecasting just isn't... Read More

The Top 5 Issues Facing VPs of Sales

A recent study of 2,663 sales organizations by Think Training,... Read More

Is Your Forecast Too Sunny? How to Improve the Accuracy of Sales Forecasts

As spring moves to summer, the forecast should be for... Read More

Business Career, Executive Coaching Article - Perfection vs. Excellence

"(Howard) Hughes never learned how to convert his knowledge to... Read More

Are Your Sales Meetings Boring?

Many sales meetings are boring and a waste of salespeople's... Read More

How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Sales Performance -- Part 2

Another key reason why companies suffer from 80/20 performance is... Read More

Run a Productive Business From Your Car-Office

The way we do business has changed dramatically over the... Read More