Episode #118: Be Certain in Sales

No one wants to be sold, but we love to buy. The difference between these two approaches comes down to the mindset of the salesperson and their sales abilities.

The hardest sales job in the world is selling something you don’t believe in yourself. The acid test is would you sell this “whatever” to your grandmother? If the answer is no, then get out of there right now! It is rarely that clear cut though isn’t it? Another important test is whether what you are selling solves the client’s problem or not. There are lots of salespeople though, trapped in jobs where they don’t believe but keep selling. You don’t have to look far to find them. You might be one of those trapped? These salespeople are going through the motions but as the buyer, you never feel they have your best interests at heart.

The more common problem is that they actually do believe in what they sell but they are not professional enough to be convincing in the sales conversation. They often have a sales personality deficiency, where they are not good with people or not good with different types of people. They get into sales by accident. They should have been screened out from the start but sadly the world is just not that logical.

Certainty around the thing being sold must be in evidence. Selling is the transfer of your enthusiasm for the product or service to the buyer. Your body language must naturally exude belief. Your face needs to be friendly. We all love to buy but we hate being sold and “super sharp ” salespeople make us nervous.

Fluency in communication is critical. Be it Japanese or English, a lot of “filler words” like Eeto, Anou , Um, Ah, etc., might help you to think of what you want to say next, but you come across as if you are not sure or convinced about what you are saying or proposing. We definitely don’t buy sales person uncertainty.

A totally canned sales speech is the opposite problem. There are still people trying to make careers in sales while wading through memorized minute after minute of the features of the “whatever”. Where are the client questions, the needs understanding, the explanation of the benefits, the application of the benefits, the evidence – the proper sales basics?

Success in sales is based on following a sales process. That process is based on three powerful foundations – your belief in what you are selling, your ability to fluently articulate back to the buyer what you heard they need and how well your solution satisfies their need.

If you want your sales to be successful, make sure you get a proper sales process, get certainty, get fluency and get going!