The life of any person is fine with or without your product. The only thing that matters about the product is that it makes someone’s life convenient. It turns life better. The difficult part then is to convince people and allow them to make a decision to purchase the same. This is selling. Sales is an art. And this art involves persuasion, knowledge, logic, confidence, and humility.
Sales is so much more than just persuading people to buy your product. Let’s dig in to find more about it!
Overview of Sales
The word ‘Sales’ refers to all the activities that are related to selling a product or service. Every organization has a separate department for the same. For business running organizations, the goal of sales is to search and reach out to the potential clients or customers, build a relationship with them, and derive a statement that will benefit the prospect and inturn the company itself.
Business organizations split their sales department into categories on the basis of the following:
- Region where they are performing sales activity
- The type or kind of product or service they are selling
- The target clients or customers
The members of the sales team reach out to potential clients who might show some interest in buying the product or service that the company is dealing with. The ultimate aim is to grab and keep hold of the lead clients and provide them with the best results as per their requirements.
Terms that you would come across while learning about Selling
Following are some of the very common terminology that you might across:
1. Seller
A Seller can also be called a sales associate/agent/representative/person. He/She is any person who performs all the activities associated with selling a product or a service.
2. Prospect
A Prospect can be referred to as an opportunity for the business. It is basically a point of contact where the sales department is up for selling. They use various prospecting techniques like outreaching through emails, making warm calls, try selling socially, etc. And if they find someone interested, then they apply sales closing strategies to turn the potential customer in.
3. Deal
A Deal is be defined as the product or service to be sold and the price associated with it. It has various stages depending upon the kind of business, the products or services, its processes, etc. Customer relationship management helps to keep the track of the performance of the deal. The seller can bring together deal plans to make the selling process easier on the prospect.
4. Sales Pipeline
The sales pipeline is a term used to describe all the steps involved in the process of selling. It gives the people involved in the sales department a visual representation of where prospects are in the sales cycle.
5. Sales Plan
The sales plan outlines the goals, objectives, and strategies for a business organization. It includes every possible detail about target customers, market conditions, revenue targets, pricing, team structure, and more. And it lays out the tactics & strategies the sales teams will use to achieve their goals.
Types of Sales Methodologies
Now we are going to discuss some of the top methodologies adopted by business organizations for selling:
- Inbound Selling: With this sales method, the sales representative plays the role of a consultant. He/She meets with the prospects, solves their problems, and fits in as per their description. 4 actions are taken by the Sales reps here:
- Firstly, identity
- Secondly, connect
- Thirdly, explore
- Fourthly, advise
- SPIN Selling: This method identifies the prospects’ problems and helps the sales rep to understand the buyer and build a bond with the potential clients. SPIN describes the four kinds of questions sales reps are supposed to and should ask their clients:
- Situation
- Problem
- Implication
- Need-Payoff
- N.E.A.T. Selling: This is a framework that is used to qualify leads. N.E.A.T. stands for:
- Core needs
- Economic impact
- Access to authority
- Compelling event.
- Conceptual Selling: Conceptual selling is a method where salespeople uncover the prospect’s concept of their product and seek to understand the prospect’s decision process.
- SNAP Selling: SNAP selling is an acronym for:
- Keep it Simple
- Be iNvaluable
- Always Align
- Raise Priorities
- The Challenger Sale: The Challenger Sale follows a teach-tailor-take control process. Salespeople teach the prospect, tailor their communications, and take control of the sale.
- The Sandler System: This system prioritizes building mutual trust between the sales rep and prospect. The salesperson acts as an advisor and asks questions to identify the prospect’s challenges.
- CustomerCentric Selling: With this method, the salesperson focuses on communicating with the key decision-makers in the sale, and finding solutions to address their problems.
- MEDDIC: MEDDIC stands for:
- Metrics
- Economic buyer
- Decision criteria
- Decision process
- Identify pain
- Champion
The salesperson asks questions about these topics to help move the prospect to move forward in the sales process.
How can you learn Sales?
Becoming the best in sales requires a perpetual practice. You need to study, understand and learn the art mentally, physically and emotionally every single day of your life.
Observe and Learn
Start your learning by observing and understanding how sales work in different fields. Learn from your surroundings. Learn from a car salesman, learn from an insurance selling executive, learn from investment bankers, learn from your competitors, learn from street food vendors, learn from a store worker, learn from tie-salesmen, learn from waiters in restaurants, etc. We’re always being sold to, and we’re always selling something. Opening your eyes to all of these “deals” being made left and right and fine-tuning your antennas is a huge, and often overlooked, opportunity to turn yourself into a “natural born salesperson”.
Learn from Veterans
One of the most effective ways to learn the finer art of sales is by spending time with the veterans. Veterans are the much-experienced people in a particular field. Having a mentor who is willing to point out your strengths as well as weaknesses is probably the best way to learn and succeed in any profession.
Network with Peers
Along with learning from mentors, don’t forget to build your own network of peers. Search for people around you who are in a similar position like you, and meet up regularly to share ideas, insights, and challenges. These kinds of exchange of knowledge and ideologies can be extremely valuable. Not just because of the strategies and tactics, you’ll get to learn, but also for your own psychology evolving as a sales personality, and building long-term treaties.
Certifications
Getting a certification in sales is an opportunity to distinguish yourself from others to compete in this competitive industry and stand out. A sales certification course might just you to the next level altogether. Numerous certification courses and certification programs exist. Certifications offer an immediate return in the form of increased sales and credibility, as well as a long-term return in the form of new and better habits, ultimately leading to a more successful career.
Vskills Certifications in Sales
- Firstly, Certified Telesales Executive
- Secondly, Certified Sales Manager
- Thirdly, Certified Hospitality Sales & Marketing Professional
- Fourthly, Certified Marketing & Sales Analytical Professional
Most important lessons you’ll learn through selling
Starting out in sales is hard. The difficulty discourages people from pursuing sales as their career, and they miss out on some important life lessons as a result.
Get over the fear of talking to people
The first major lesson you learn is how to talk to people. Meeting new people becomes easier when you are in sales. Becoming comfortable with conversation will open doors for you. A sales job forces you to step outside of your comfort zone and speak to new people. Interacting with people on a daily basis makes you realize how valuable connections are. The larger your network is, the easier it will be for you to make new connections. Being comfortable around new people is an invaluable skill, developing it early helps you get ahead in every area of life.
Deal with Rejection
Be it in any field, you’ll face a lot of rejection in life. Losing obviously never feels good. But sales make you better at facing it. You’ll have to face people who tell you no and learn to not take it personally. The fact that you need to understand is that people don’t say no to you, but they say no to the idea. Learning how to deal with rejections will make you mentally strong. All it takes is consistency. The best salespeople have been rejected countless times, but they never gave up.
Learn to persuade without being pushy
There is a fine line between persuading and being pushy. Persuasion is an art. Finding that balance between persuading and helping is the key. Working in sales will actually help you understand what a customer wants. And that will help you find a solution to persuading people.
Listen > Talk
Another lesson you learn in sales is to get your customer to talk more than you. When you talk with people, you should try to hear their problems and find a solution for them. People often do not want to talk to people they do not trust. A job in sales teaches you how to ask the right questions to get your prospect talking. By hearing them out, you allow them to be more comfortable in doing business with you. They may not realize what they are really communicating, but listening and learning to understand their real need will make you a better salesperson.
Overall, you can learn a lot from a job in sales. You develop skills that otherwise do not get much attention. These skills that you learn during selling prepare you to face many challenges ahead in life. They force you to step outside your comfort zone.
