The black art of sales

I have been jotting down sales tips that I have noted from working with several high performing sales people over the past few weeks.

Here they are.

1. Sales is a game of confidence
2. Two ears one mouth – the best sales people use them in that proportion
3. Increase sales activity – set some goals and make the calls
4. 80% of sales will be made by 20% of sales people , those 20% will have clear priorities
5. Sales people must be confident in the value and skills they deliver to their client
6. Develop relationships of trust, telling someone you cant do something isn’t the end of the world
7. Conduct effective needs analysis – 8 out of every 10 sales people don’t!
8. Face the fear of rejection, head on, what’s the worst that can happen, a client says no
9. Have thought through the objections you will face before you meet/call a client
10. Ask the customer/prospect is there anything else on their mind before wrapping up a meeting
11. Set clear goals for meeting and gain commitment to a next step
12. Will block time in their calendar to call on new prospects
13. Apply the 80/20 rule to all sales activity
14. Be absolutely clear on the ideal customer
15. Plan visits around locations – don’t waste time
16. Listen to CD’s, read, uses travel time effectively, make the car your place of learning
17. Be consistent with your message and make sure what you say and do are aligned
18. Transfer knowledge and ideas into concepts that clients can easily understand
19. Do the sales activity you least like doing first thing in the morning
20. Present yourself as an expert, people want to talk to experts