12 Things Every Sales Superstar Knows (Part 1 of 2) There are only two ways to sell more. Do more things right. Do fewer things wrong. Every sales super star knows that there are many skills and attitudes that contribute to their success, but there are twelve critical attributes that the sales super stars have integrated into their overall sales strategy. If you want long-term, consistent success, you will embrace and incorporate each of them into your routine sales attitudes and behaviors. 1. Make a sale, you'll make a living. Build a relationship, and you can make a fortune. Poor salespeople focus on just closing the sale. Successful salespeople focus on closing the sale and creating the relationship. Which is your approach? Selling is not about only closing the current prospect on a particular product or service that addresses one of their pressing problems, needs or desires. It is about building a trusting relationship and partnership with them by becoming a resource and helping them solve their on-going problems, or satisfying their continuing and evolving needs and desires. Super stars know that the lifetime value of a client is far greater and more satisfying than the value of one sale or transaction. 2. People buy when they are ready to buy, not when you need to sell. You don't change people's buying habits or circumstances. What you can do is accurately discover them and then create a sense of urgency. A lot of buying is done due to momentum. It is important to discover those "real" reasons or circumstances as to why a prospect would buy now, later, or never. Once they have discovered the real issues, the sales super stars tailor their appeal to those specific needs, desires and buying circumstances. 3. When you sell price, you rent the business. When you sell value, you own it. Most poorly trained salespeople tend to lower the price when they receive price resistance. Any price, no matter how low, will always seem high to a prospect or customer if the perceived value is low. The key to effectively handling price resistance is to understand this simple, yet profound, concept. Prospects and customers say they want low price, but what they really want is low cost. What is the difference? Price is what customers pay for your product or service now. Cost is what the customer pays by buying late, not at all, or wrong. It is their cost extended over time. The sales super stars sell value and don't defend price. In the long run, it is much easier to justify high price if the value is there, than poor quality and constant product/service problems. 4. Your prospect will tell you what you need to tell them to sell them. Accurate and timely information is the key to success in selling. One of the biggest mistakes poor salespeople make is that they give information before they get information. In other words they talk too much. If you practice this approach, you are going to make one or all of the following mistakes. 1) You will give too much information (more than is necessary to make the sale). 2) You will give the wrong information (based on the prospect's needs, wants, desires or problems). 3. You will give information that could sabotage your success either in the short or long term. 5. If two people want to do business together, they won't let the details get in the way. If two people don't want to do business together, they will let any detail get in the way. If a prospect doesn't want to do business with you, they will let even the slightest detail get in the way. We are talking here about intent. Sales super stars know how to identify the prospect's real intent or their purpose. They are not easily misled and tend to probe deeper when they feel they are not getting the real truth from the prospect or customer. 6. You need to work as hard to keep the business as you did to get it in the first place. Many salespeople make lots of promises or benefit statements while trying to sell a new prospect. A key concept to keep in mind while selling is that the close of the sale is not the end of the sales process, but the beginning of the sales relationship. Sales super stars know that to ensure repeat business, customer loyalty, positive references and qualified referrals, their after-sales service must be one of their strengths.
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