If you’ve ever been in a sales environment, you’ll know that there’s always somebody who just seems to be a cut above the rest. Their customers come back time and time again. And they get bags of commission, taking home a handsome paycheck at the end of the month.
You’ve observed them and watched what they do. But no matter how hard you try, you just can’t emulate their success. What is it that they are doing that you can’t?
It’s an important question. In fact, it’s a matter that has plagued those who study the issue. There seems to be a difference in the way that they behave and approach the sale that’s tough to learn. But now science is uncovering why some people are better at selling than others. Here’s what they do.
They Sell On Value
People who are new to sales think that selling is all about the product. They spend ages talking about all the benefits of the product, including details like its specification and so on. But there’s a problem with that approach. The problem is that those differences in specification are actually quite abstract for most buyers. Most buyers aren’t experts like you in what the product can do differently from its competitors. They just want something that will work for them.
This is the “value” of the product. But what exactly does that mean? Well, imagine you’re trying to sell ice cubes to two different people. One is an Eskimo living in the Arctic, and the other is a Jamaican living in the Caribbean. The block of ice might be the best quality ice in the world, but to the Eskimo, it’s of little use. Why would he or she want to cool down their drinks when it’s constantly freezing outside? By contrast, things are a little warmer in the Caribbean. The Jamaican would attach high value to the ice cube because he or she would want their drink to be cooled. Great sellers understand what is valuable to their customers. They spend all their time thinking about possible use-cases and selling these to their clients. It’s about how the product makes the lives of customers better, not what it is or what it does.
They Work As A Team
Photo credit: usembassylondon
Resources, like SalesHub, make it clear that in order to sell effectively, people have to work as a team. Too often, salespeople are competing with each other; chasing after a fixed sum of commission. This actually undermines the team and makes a sale less likely.
Salespeople have to work together because customers are increasingly turning against the “hard-sell.” Competitive environments create the desire among salespeople to sell at all costs. And for today’s savvy customer, this is actually a big turn off.
Teams that work together help to facilitate the long lead time needed to get a new customer. Teams need to work together at every stage of the sale. That means cooperating from planting the first seed of interest to getting the customer to sign on the dotted line.