Two Essential Skills you Must Possess for Sales Success

Every sales professional who is serious about their career constantly seeks out new and diverse training materials to increase their abilities. Out of all of the suggestions made in professionally produced sales training material to assist with self improvement, increasing of sales, getting a higher closing percentage, or presentation of solutions, two skills far and away stand out among the rest.

Sales of any kind, in its purest sense, is the ability to solve a need or desire, created or inherent, with a product or service. Early sales professionals and trainers used to preach a “find a need and fill it” type of philosophy to ensure success. This made complete sense. Find out where a need exists and fill the need. Solve the problems. Be the hero. But even with that same advice going out to a majority of sales professionals, there were always a few that performed well beyond the norm.

Those that seemed to have the innate ability to not only find a need and fill it, but could also create a need and fill it were many times more successful than the rest. What exactly do I mean by “create a need and fill it”? Sales professionals that can bring to light issues you have, but that were not on the forefront of your mind, can be of extreme value to you. They look at business the way you do, and they can often suggest far superior solutions you had never considered. They speak in terms of return on investment, soft costs, and total cost of ownership.

For example: Company A is an automotive body repair shop. They have several light fixtures that have burned out, and they need them repaired. Working by the dim light is difficult for shop workers who need to see detail and match paint, and they need them repaired ASAP. Not having proper lighting levels is slowing down the operation.

A competent salesperson would come out and address the need. “Find a need and fill it.” You have lights out? I can fix them. Here is your bid. This is a pretty simplistic process really.

A top performing professional salesperson might ask a few more questions. “How long have these lights been out? How long has it been since you change the lamps on the other fixtures? Are your light levels high enough? Do you know how many foot-candles are recommended for your industry? How many hours a week/month/year do you run these fixtures? Do you realize that more energy efficient fixtures now exist, and that they can pay for themselves with energy savings? Would higher light levels be helpful? How long have you been at this location? Do you have a long term lease? Would it be helpful if…..?”

There are many questions that a well trained sales professional might ask to get a better idea of how best to serve the needs of the client. How the potential client answers those questions will dictate what type of proposal the salesperson will put together.

Salesperson 1 will only put together a basic proposal that can be shopped around as a commodity.

Salesperson 2 will put together a total solution and well thought out proposal that will address the needs of the business now and in the future. In this scenario, the solution may be complete replacement of old and inefficient fixtures with new ones. Not just the few that were out, but all of them at the same time. Energy savings will be substantial, and if financed, the energy savings will be more on a monthly basis than a payment for the whole project. This solution is far superior to the solution suggested by the client, and he may be more than willing to consider it, as it was brought to him by an expert in the lighting industry that has his best interests at heart.

Salesperson 2 put together a more attractive solution and got paid more. He has also created a lifetime customer and is recognized by the client as an expert in his or her field.

What two skills are used by salesperson 2 that make such a big difference?

1. Ask Questions

Asking questions is the key to understanding your client’s needs. Don’t be shy! By not asking questions, there is no way you can understand how or why decisions are going to be made. Order takers don’t ask questions. Salespeople do! Ask questions until the customer knows you understand what they need, how they need, and why they need. One of the basic human needs that we all have is to be understood. When your client understands that you care enough to find out about their business, and that you truly understand how to put together the right solution, your chances for success multiply many times over.

2. Listen

Top salespeople not only ask a ton of questions, they listen to the answers. Closely. The ability to truly listen to your client comes from maturity in your field, a desire and willingness to serve others, and an expertise on your product and or service. When you know your product so well that you don’t have to think about what to ask or say next, you can truly listen to what your client is telling you. This cannot be overstated. Listening as a professional salesperson also includes reading between the lines, reading body language, and picking up on clues all around you. Sometimes what you are told is not what is meant. Sometimes “I don’t want to spend any money” is really meant as “I’m not willing to waste money on a short term solution.” Unless you asked questions such as “How did you choose the solution you have now?”, you would never know that they might be unhappy with their previous choice of taking the lowest possible bid. This ability often takes years of sales experience to master, and according to most top sales trainers, is the biggest key to your success once you are in front of a customer.

By mastering both the skill of asking questions and the skill of being an attentive listener, you will find yourself better equipped to put together the right solution for your clients and increase your sales.