Any members here in Sales?!

[Alittleboost]

Just wondering.....how do you guys deal with people.

As you know a good sales man can sell almost anybody, do you think some people just have it in them?! I have a relative in sales, and by listening to him talk, seems like you can't say no.


Just wondering what you guys do?! do you have a ritual you do? or maybe it comes from experience....people are the most difficult things to deal with.


Just wondering, what your mind set is...or the aspect of your approach.


feel free to chime in. :smile: .....try to disregard the item you are trying to sell, i'm asking a general question.

 

[netfreak]

i work in sales but very low pressure in an electronics retailer. i basically greet them, engage conversation, probe needs, recommend and demonstrate a product, do a trial closing attempt, overcome any objections and re-energize the presentation, and finally close the sale.

i've been doing this for three years and i've found that you never can read a customer's intentions before talking to them. a guy may pull up in a ferrari but just wants to chat about new products, meanwhile some bum walks in and decides to drop a few thousand on an impulse buy. anyone can surprise you. still, though, many people are annoying to deal with.

i've never really considered myself a great salesperson, but i've received sales awards for both the 2004 and 2005 fiscal years. i don't use any special tricks, except for never asking a question that answers with "no." keep people saying "yes" and nodding, and chances are they'll say yes again when you ask them to close the deal. main thing is to make the customer think they can't live without the product... i stay calm regardless of the size of potential purchase staring me in the face. people can tell if you're really eager to sell them something, and usually go into defensive mode. over-eager salespeople often make the mistake of not really listening to the customer and trying to push whatever they think will sell easier.

it's 5am for me right now. let me know if anything above made sense.

EDIT: watch this movie http://imdb.com/title/tt0199054/ for other tips

 

[Ponyboy]

Some people are naturals to salemanship and some others have to learn it. A lot of being successful is in personality, sensitivity, and empathy. But the majority is in knowing your product and your industry in and out and actually doing the work. It's not easy but it can be fun.

 

[Alittleboost]

Thanks for the Movie tip........sales is such a art to me, i've seen many aspects of talking and negotiating...maybe be i just have ADD, seems like when i can't close somebody i walk out and say "shit i forgot to do this, that"...and it would probably worked, but I already lost my chances.



I've watch boiler room, and I wish I can make those bold statements......what goes through your guys/girls heads when trying to sale somebody?


I use to be really good at it when I worked at the bank....seems I've lost the touch.

 

[comquat1]

I'm not in sales, I'm in relationship building. I just happen to sell stuff too. :wink:

It's all about the relationship. So long as you have a customer who has the potential for being a long term buyer.

 

[queenlives]

i'm asking a general question.

i'm happy to offer some feedback, what's your specific question?

 

[nuccaJB]

I have a friend who is a natural salesman like you described. It is funny, when he talks to you, you know he is selling you and you will go along anyway. He has a gift when it comes right down to it. A few things that I have learned over the years and from watching him are, never lie and truly believe in what you are telling people. It is much easier to come across confident, which is number two, people can read your confidence level subconsciously, it is unreal how easy you can chase them away with small manerisms. Be a little bold. You mentioned Boiler Room and the things they said, I have found that all you need to do is say something a few times and it becomes much easier. I also feel that you need to gradually take small steps out of your comfort zone and you can start making big steps. Lastly, like netfreak mentioned about customer type, never assume anything about the sale. Sometimes you may feel like you did a crap job and make the sale, next day you nail it and they walk. You never know, just use visualization techniques and see yourself getting it done. Chekc out Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnigie(sp?) books, they are old but amazing books.

 

[John McCain Racing]

I'm not in sales, I'm in relationship building. I just happen to sell stuff too. :wink:

It's all about the relationship. So long as you have a customer who has the potential for being a long term buyer.

I agree 100%! When I sold cars a few years ago I had several customers that ended up sending me half their family to buy cars too. Then you have the ones that "swap" cars every month or so. :wink:

 

[The Kid]

I work in sales and in the car business :biggrin:

 

[Alittleboost]

i'm happy to offer some feedback, what's your specific question?

Hmm....let me think, how about rebuttals?! or gaining a customers/clients confidence?



Think of it as a door to door sales man...or business to business.

 

[PoohBEAR]

Pull out the four-square, I am running

I work in sales and in the car business :biggrin:

 

[John McCain Racing]

Pull out the four-square, I am running

LOL! I kinda miss the days of the 4 Square. :biggrin: I do agree though, that chit doesn't work on me!

 

[The Kid]

Pull out the four-square, I am running

maybe a west coast thing :tongue: Ive heard of it but I always just used my own style. Sell things you believe in. I have worked for HONDA/ACURA for over 7 years now. Great Company with good perks. :biggrin: I drive one and love them. Im happy to be a sales-manager now because the direct sales aspect was getting boring and annoying.

 

[steveny]

I can sell just about anything to just about anyone. I have never officially worked in sales but buy and sell everything and anything. I feel being a good salesman also makes one a good consumer/buyer. I also have the gift/curse of gab as anyone who comes to Prime chat may know. :biggrin: I love to buy and sell whether it is services, goods or contracts, etc.
One of my favorite saying is "I buy junk and sell antiques".

All the money you can make on a sale is made when you buy. Even better than being a good salesman is being a good buyer. Being able to talk someone into sell you something for way under market value and have them be happy to sell it to you for the reduced price is where the profits are at in the sales world.

I had a house on the market listed with a real-estate agent for 6 months with no buyer. I finally took matters into my own hands and decided to sell it myself...even though the listing is still with the agent. I composed and placed my own adds in the same classifieds as the agent does. With in one week I had a buyer sign the contract... AND... for 5.6k above the asking price. The agent cut her commission to 1%.

 

[neuralpathways]

It really depends on the environment, company culture, market conditions, etc. There truly is an art to sales.

Depending upon the environment/culture of the prospect base, thus the company you work for, the art of sales could vary from Folk to Americana to Renaissance to Modern to Abstract.

The salesperson's perceived value is usually relative to the "clout" of the prospective client. Each field has it's own culture and sales tactics that inevitibly "turn off" anyone outside of their prospective customer base.

I truly believe that it's up to the individual, and what level they are able/willing to participate within their own perceived stature.

If your idea of "sales man" is one of a person that goes door- to-door hawking vaccuums, then you'll probably never want to do that- you just don't have it in you. The vaccuum salesman does/did, and probably made pretty good money for himself for his aspirations.

If your idea of salesperson is those gutsy few who goes head to head with their own fears every day, and beats them down while gaining confidence to move on to the next client, you'll make a lot of money, gain friends and integrity along the way.

You could sell Jets or jalopes. The amount of money is relevant to your perceptions of yourself..........to some degree :wink:

 

[Sig]

I feel being a good salesman also makes one a good consumer/buyer.

Very true.

 

[nuccaJB]

You could sell Jets or jalopes. The amount of money is relevant to your perceptions of yourself..........to some degree :wink:

I couldn't agree with this comment more!

 

[4AU4LIFE]

I am in parts sales in a car dealership. I know how it feels to go in a store and have a person approach you and try to talk you into buying something. Give you all kinds of reasons why you should and now is the absolute best time in history to do so. Also, you better buy from them or you will be paying more than you have to. I hate that.
I normally go into a store knowing exactly what I want to see or find out about a product. If I need any help I know how to find someone and ask them. I WON'T buy anything until I am 100% certain that it is the right product for me, no matter what a person tries to tell me.
Having that in mind, I would like to think I am the most easy going 0% pressure salesperson. 95% of my business comes via the telephone also so I don't have many people come up to me looking to products.
When someone does call me and wants a price on something, I gladly look it up and tell them the price and availability. Once I hear their reaction, I go with whatever they want to do. If they are on the fence, I tell them to think about it and if they want it to just call back and I'll get it. I might lose some sales by not asking to reserve it for them, or say we might sell it on the next call or something like that. Although those are true statements, I don't play the game that way.
Have been doing it for over 10yrs now so I guess it works pretty good.

 

[comquat1]

If they are on the fence, I tell them to think about it and if they want it to just call back and I'll get it. I might lose some sales by not asking to reserve it for them, or say we might sell it on the next call or something like that. Although those are true statements, I don't play the game that way.
Have been doing it for over 10yrs now so I guess it works pretty good.

Not disagreeing with how you conduct yourself but I don't see anything wrong with a soft trial closing. Asking someone if they want you to set it aside for them and to hold it with a credit card is a very legitimate thing to ask someone. At least you can tell by their answer if they're yanking your chain or are serious so that you don't have to keep thinking about whether they may or may not come in. I'm in business to business sales (your's sounds a like business to consumer), and people are hard enough to get time with, which is why I feel the need to close as quickly as possible so that 1. I can get back to working on other sales and 2. They can get back to what they need to do. It's funny, companies (or even business owners themselves who purchase) have no conception of the time value of money. I've had guys shop me all over town after giving a competitive price to save a few dollars, their time involvment was worth way more than the ammount they had saved though. If they took that time and used it to go get a sale for their business they'd be further ahead in the end. I've been having that discussion quite a bit lately, I ask the customer how valuable their time is. If they trust me (because we have a good relationship) they'll just tell me to order what it is they want and be done with it, if they don't, I move on to someone who will. Salespeople need to start realizing that many many markets are becoming commodity based because of the internet, therefore it's important for a sales person to set themself apart from their competition by having a good relationship with their customer and awesome service.

 

[steveny]

It's funny, companies (or even business owners themselves who purchase) have no conception of the time value of money.

People in the service trade have the same problem. At the beginning of the week I had a contractor doing some work for me on one of my properties. He charges 40 bucks an hour for his time. He spent a half an hour picking up a 5 dollar box of screws that he dumped on the floor. Let the cleaner sweep them up and throw them out instead of wasting valuable time!

 

[queenlives]

Hmm....let me think, how about rebuttals?! or gaining a customers/clients confidence?



Think of it as a door to door sales man...or business to business.

lots of excellent feedback to you thus far.

this is a fella i've learned from over the years that you might find to be of help:
http://www.gitomer.com

 

[comquat1]

lots of excellent feedback to you thus far.

this is a fella i've learned from over the years that you might find to be of help:
http://www.gitomer.com

I read his column every week in our local business journal. I pray every time I read it that my competition doesn't learn of it. So far most don't follow this advice and it's worked for me.

 

[queenlives]

I read his column every week in our local business journal. I pray every time I read it that my competition doesn't learn of it. So far most don't follow this advice and it's worked for me.

i know what you mean. i've been reading him off'n'on for ~15 yrs and often point salesfolks to his columns... i can't say that i've followed everything he recommends (some doesn't directly apply), but i find him a great "pocket mentor" for most salesfolks (at times, me included at my ripe old age/exp level i don't believe i've ever outright disagreed with him, either.

 

[SilverStone05]

Salesmen are born, not made.

 

[comquat1]

Don't think I said this before but when I was in third grade and would call my friend's house, his mom thought I was a telemarketer. If that don't tell you what your future career is gonna be, I dunno what will!

p.s. I'm not a telemarketer now, but still, kinda funny looking back at that.