The Critical Pillars of Sales Excellence

Selling Rests on Seven Critical Pillars:

Pillar One: Empower yourself with the right competencies by acquiring sufficient knowledge about your products and services, understand your target market, have sufficient information about your competitors, and master your marketing and sales strategy. Also acquire and develop critical sales skills such as networking, questioning, listening, presentation, negotiation and relationship management skills. Then, of course, improve your mental disposition with a high sense of self-worth, patience, persistence, willingness to go the extra mile and emotional intelligence.

Pillar Two: Identify, target and gain access to those who need and want your products and services; will derive value from your products and services; and who have the capacity and authority to acquire them. Make sufficient contacts, secure enough referrals and introductions.

Pillar Three: Make presentations to prospects by communicating the features, benefits, value proposition and competitive advantages of your products and services. This pillar also involves dealing with the objections and concerns of prospects.

Pillar Four: Follow up and re-enforce your value proposition until you win the customer.

Pillar Five: Manage the customers, deepen the relationship, achieve customer loyalty and cross sell to existing customers.

Pillar Six: Make customers your advocates, and use them to secure new contacts and businesses.

Pillars Seven: Constantly evaluate your results, learn from your mistakes, tweak your strategy and keep your head up.