The Simple Basics of Sales Success

There is one reason a lot of salespeople struggle in sales, they OVER complicate it.

Perhaps they talk too much or they try to sell too much or they over think everything they do. When salespeople over complicate things they often struggle in any part of the sales process.

I've seen this with my own eyes, experienced it myself and heard it from many of the biggest sales experts out there, sales success comes from mastering THE BASICS.

S - Solve Problems

Sales happen not when you try to sell something but when you try to SOLVE something. People don't like to be sold to but then need to buy. When salespeople try to sell something they focus more on them and their product over their prospect and the problem it will solve. When people buy something they're often looking to save money, upgrade, save time etc. If you want to succeed in selling you need to be able to identify problems that your product can solve.

A - Ask Lots of Questions

We know that we need to solve problems to sell, but how do we find out if someone has a problem? We ask them! We ask lots of questions to understand their problem, what caused it, what impact does it have, what is the cost of not solving that problem etc. The more questions you ask, the more you find out. The more you find out, the stronger the relationship you have (they feel like you know them) and the more information you have to leverage to sell!

L - Listen More Than You Talk

Possibly the most important sales basic is to LISTEN more than you talk. This one is so simple yet it's problem one of the most common missed basics. I've led teams of hundreds of salespeople and one of the most common mistake that the majority made as not listening enough. Most would just talk AT their prospects, spewing features and benefits in the hope that by throwing enough mud at the wall, something will stick and someone will buy. When salespeople listen that's where the magic really happens. Listening builds rapport, it builds relationships and it gains you the crucial information you need to solve their problem!

E - Empathise

Emotional intelligence is a crucial factor in sales and empathy is a big part of that. If you want to build trust and rapport with your customer it's important that you can show them that you understand them. That doesn't mean you have to agree with everything they say, but you should be able to show that you understand their situation, their role and their problems. If they feel that you understand them they will be more likely to open up to you, building a stronger relationship, increasing the chance you'll have of finding the information needed to sell and increasing the chance they will buy from you.

S - Share Knowledge

Your role as a sales professional is to share knowledge. Your not there to list a load of features and benefits but to share knowledge of the industry, of your experiences and your understanding of things that be of benefit and help them. It's important to not feel like you are just a salesperson there to sell something, but you are a professional of value who has knowledge, insight and experience along with a product or service of value to people.

It is very often within those basics that real sales success lies. The best salespeople aren't those that know secret hacks or tricks, they are just people who have mastered the basics and replicated them.

I'd also add that what brings them together is hard and smart work. Top salespeople work hard AND work smart. They graft but they invest that time and effort on the activities most likely or proven to deliver the strongest results.

Are there any sales basics that you would add to that list?

Add them in the comments below, in your opinion what do you think are core basics of sales success?

I hope you found this blog helpful and informative! If you enjoyed this post please do click LIKE and click SHARE to share it with your network, thank you.

If you enjoyed this post please take time to read some of my other recent posts.

The 10 Things That Will NEVER Change In Sales

How To Make Cold Calling Fun!

Successful Salespeople SELL With Why...

The 10 Films You MUST Watch If You Work In Sales!

About the author: 

Daniel Disney is the UK's leading sales writer and social selling expert and is also the Founder and Owner of The Daily Sales.

With over 180 sales blogs written over the last couple of years read, Daniel has become a source of knowledge, motivation, entertainment and inspiration for salespeople all around the world. Daniel is the Founder & Owner of The Daily Sales, the most popular page on LinkedIn for salespeople! With an audience of over 200,000 and growing, his content reaches salespeople far and wide ultimately helping them sell more.

Daniel now delivers his hugely popular Social Selling Masterclass on his mission to help all sales professionals and sales teams leverage social to its full potential. For more information on bringing the Social Selling Masterclass to your sales team, email [email protected].