The inevitable evolution of selling techniques post Covid-19

There are 100 million sales persons across the world who really need to read and understand this message, otherwise you will be jobless, selling skills as you know it have been changed dramatically.

Everything you know about selling starting from the steps of the sales cycle, presentation techniques, handling customer objections reaching to closing tactics have been changed, we are now witnessing the birth of new selling skills, embrace them, adapt them, educate yourself swiftly or look for another job!.

Among many definitions for “SALES”, I prefer that it is the ability to change people’s mind, persuading them to take instant purchase decisions, either it is a 1,000 USD laptop or 100 million USD property deal, selling is selling, it is all about what you sell and to whom.

Sales people are normally charismatic, ambitious, elegant and well spoken, they posses high level of social intelligence, they use special discipline; facial gestures, special dictions, take care of the smallest details like the dress and the perfume they wear, nothing is spontaneous, while they make you think it is.

Perhaps one of the most important skills any sales person has is the ability to put his client in a “sense of urgency” to make a decision, otherwise they will be like any customer service representative, but this all require a “Face to face meeting” to apply all these skills and techniques that is why a sales person always asks for a meeting, what Covid-19 has done is it has created a space between the client and the sales person and I am not talking about social-distancing here, most of the lead generation campaigns from suspect level to meeting were at 20% after this pandemic started it is now 2%, which means the sales person can’t practice the magic he created since he started his or her career, consequently low closing ratio.

Selling skills have evolved, all communications with clients have been digitalized, this requires new set of skills that sales people are not used to, this will take them out from their comfort zone.

For property selling for instance will be about generating a digital meeting not a lead using one of the applications like Microsoft teams or Zoom, you must be an outstanding user, the client journey has changed, the ice breaking is different, fact finding process is different, using the virtual tour to show the client the property is a must, booking process is different, everything is now different.

All real estate developers and brokers must start immediately to educate their sales people on how to digitalize all their selling skills, new skills will emerge and others will disappear, change is inevitable, embrace it.

Samer Haddad