Didn’t get the sale? 5 things you forgot you knew about sales

Throughout my career while training new and veteran sales reps alike variations of one question tend to come out by the end of our session.

“How do I get more sales?”

This can take the form of asking “What do I need to do to be successful?” “How can I do more?” or even “What am I missing?”

Having completed hundreds and hundreds of sales visits, presentations and calls, read countless sales books and attended business school for sales and marketing I have come to the conclusion that while there are no magic sales bullets that will cure all problems there are 5 things that if you are missing you are not going to be successful. The great thing about them? You probably already know them.

Before we get into them a note. These are on the surface basic concepts. There isn’t anything revolutionary here. That said as you read through ask yourself “Do I truly execute these daily?” “Am I 100% confident that I am nailing these on each call?” Paraphrasing Aristotle excellence is a habit, not a single act. As sales professionals, we need to do these 5 things every time we interact with a client.

1) Do your research

Never in the history of sales has this been so important and so easy. The amount of information we have available to us on company websites, social media and search engines means you should never enter a meeting without a solid understanding of what your client does and where you might fit. You will still need to learn more and ask great questions but you will save yourself the embarrassment of seeming uninterested or lazy. More importantly, you will save yourself the time of speaking with the wrong people! Time is your only commodity don’t waste yours or your clients.

2) Ask great questions – and then really listen

Do you know how to listen? Or do you know how to wait for your turn to talk? As a sales professional, you need to be able to demonstrate that you care about what a client is saying. Bonus point when you really listen you will fill your backpack with so many great problems to solve your next step will become obvious. Then, and only then, can you set about making sure the client knows just how obvious it is.

3) Actually believe in your product / company

Why does your business do the thing it does or make the products it makes? No not what do you make, or how do you make it. WHY do you do what you do. Simon Sinek states it most simply in his book “Start with Why” when he says “Great companies start with why they do what they do. Then they move to the how and the what”. Misinformed sales people start with what they sell (which can be found online in 2 minutes) and how they sell it (which takes an additional 2 minutes) So ask yourself why is your client going to spend 30 minutes with you when they can find out everything you know from a website in 4 minutes? Start always with Why you do what you do. Tell the story and show why they should believe in you and your company.

4) Solve your client’s problem – not just any problem

Remember back in step 2 when you really listened to your client? Now is when you get to combine your research, listening and why your company/product exists into a solution for one of their problems. This step is crucial to wrapping the sale up in step 5 and shouldn’t be done halfway. Don’t just solve “a” problem solve their problem! If they don’t have a problem your product or company is uniquely positioned to solve thank them for their time and spend yours somewhere else.

5) Build trust

While it is trendy to say that in selling relationships are dead the fact is that they are now the starting point. Real sales numbers, however, start happening when there is trust. Research has shown again and again that approximately 75% of why someone says yes to a sales person is based on how much they trust you as a person. Not your product, price, company or features. Simply do they trust you to do what you say you will, how you say it will be done. How do you build this trust? Complete the 4 steps above every time you meet with a client. If they know you have done your research, really listened, believe in your product and can solve one of their specific problems you are well on your way to having them see you as a sales professional rather than just another sales person.