Seven Selling Fundamentals That Create an Effective Sales Skills Set

There has been a time that we have allsalesperson and creates the proper mindset and
experienced, although a rare situation, where youwinning beliefs of a "Sales Professional." This is a
totally surrendered to the selling skills, sellingcomplex topic, which is why it is so difficult to
fundamentals, sales technique and enthusiasm of amaster.
true 'Sales Professional." You were convinced thatGenerating Results Through Selling
you were not going to purchase, you made thatThis pillar is exciting because it offers the
decision on the way to the presentation. You justopportunity of taking a giant leap forward in
wanted to hear about the product, not buy it.generating results if applied correctly. By using key
During the sales presentation you began to rethinkscientific methodologies understanding the role the
your resolve and thought that 'maybe there ishuman brain plays in making buying decisions, the
something to this'.Sales Professional can experience vast
By the end of presentation, you did not changeimprovements in closing ratios and speed the
your mind, but you made a new decision basedtrust building process with clients and referral
on new information, that made you want to buypartners. Plus, the results can be achieved on
what the salesman was selling. It was masterful:purpose every time by following the scientific
the timing of the questions, the tone of voice, theprocess/methodology, versus crossing fingers and
amazing ability to listen to what you were reallyhoping that the gift of gab or instinct will get you
asking for. It was like poetry in motion. It seemedby.
like that salesperson could read your mind - andThe Sales Objective
wow - even understood your pain. We areSales professionals know exactly what their job is
helpless and totally at the mercy of the Saleson a daily basis. They know what their objective
Professional's defined sales technique andis on every sales call and are comfortable driving
sequence and the most fascinating of all, wethe sales process because they are crystal clear
loved every moment of it! The sales process wason what step is next. Their clients find it easy to
effortless, enjoyable and we even spent moredo business with them because they reduce the
money than what we had originally planned.number of decisions the client needs to make,
Why? Because the level of sales professionalismallowing them to focus on their business. The
made us feel that our needs were safe we couldfoundation of a defined sales process is made up
trust this person. We felt comfortable enough toof what I call the Six Money Making Activities:
be confident that this process would solve ourProspecting, Setting Appointments, Presenting
problem and add value to our lives. You see, weValue, Closing, After Care/Follow-up, and
love working with true professionals. We loveReferrals.
buying from them because they make our livesThe Advanced Sales Strategies
easier. Even better, we love referring themAdvanced Selling Strategies consist of creating
because they make us look good. We tell theirleverage and compression, preemptive selling to
stories at dinner and we go out of our way toeliminate all objections before they come up, and
ensure that our friends and family use thisconsultative selling. In essence, here you begin
salesperson.moving from $25/hr. activity to $2,500/hr.
Effective professional selling fundamentals areactivity.
what make this 'Sales Professional' that good. ToSales Management
be compassionate about being a sales person,Create a lean sales accountability system. All of
with the drive to become this effective, youthe first six pillars are, fundamentally, subject
should become familiar with the '7 Pillars of amatter and skills that can be learned and honed
Sales Professional'. You will build a solid foundationby committed sales professionals. However, the
for professional growth with these effectivekey to bringing them all together and turning them
selling fundamentals.into more income, is a lean system. This ensures
The Selling Fundamentalsall the right things happen, at the right time, every
The fundamentals of selling consist of a basictime, with minimal wasted effort and maximum
foundational sales skill set. These include featuresbenefit both to the customer and to the sales
and benefits, hot buttons, closing, silence afterprofessional. Such a system should keep track of
asking for the sale, the law of averages, the 80every one of your contacts as well as your
20 rule, the six money making activities, opencurrent lead pipeline and then drive each lead
ended questions, etc. It is virtually impossible tothrough the Defined Sales Process (pillar 5) that
build a career as a sales professional with out thisyou created to take advantage of best practices.
foundation. Returning to the fundamentals is theContact management and CRM systems can be
secret to getting out of selling slump.helpful here, but a lean work flow automation
Art of The Salesolution is the way to get it done right. Such a
Anyone can draw a picture of an apple, but ansystem brings accountability to how you are
artist draws an apple so beautifully that you mighthandling the leads in your pipeline and whether you
pay to put it on your wall. Learning theare moving them through your Defined Sales
fundamentals is a great start and will make aProcess at a pace and conversion ratio that
dramatic impact on your sales career and pocketensures that you are consistently making money.
book. Now add learning how to deliver those skillsWith competition at an all time high and unskilled
in the same way an artist makes a painting andsalespeople lowering their prices on a daily basis,
see your results soar. The art of selling consistsSales Professionals need to streamline their
of the proper use of voice inflection, bodybusiness, focus on highest payoff activities and still
language, presentation skills, timing of questions,deliver more value than competitors. By defining
use of silence, pace of speech, etc. Researchyour sales process and accountability system, you
shows that tone of voice and body languagethen can focus on creating the life and business
make up 93% of the impact we make on otheryou've always dreamed of.
people. It's NOT what you say, it's HOW you sayBecoming familiar with, and using these
it that matters.professional selling fundamentals, generate
The Psychology of Sellingconfidence and creates personal pride in being a
All sales people face the same psychologicalprofessional salesperson. Continue to educate
challenges of facing rejection, insecurity, fear, callyourself in your chosen profession. Go back to
reluctance and procrastination. These are notwhy you sell what you sell, and be willing to act
logical problems but rather problems of emotionalon the care that you feel for your clients. Care
self-regulation. Pure will power can sometimes beenough to be unreasonable when they don't
suffice but when we fail to overcome theseunderstand the value of what you are offering
challenges it may be due to taking a purely logicaland ask again for the sale. The world needs
approach (better time management) to solveprofessional salespeople who understand and can
emotional problems (lack of impulse control). Theeffectively use these selling fundamentals to sell
psychology of selling consists of coping strategiesthe right things to the right people at the right
and tools to deal with the realities of being atime.