A salesperson sells – that is what he does.

As a salesperson, you may sell to people who desperately need whatever it is that you are selling. You may sell an item to someone who can live without it, but would like to have one anyway. You are also going to at least try to sell an item to people who could not care less about what you are trying to sell. These are the people who are going to need your skills in order to convince them. After all, the others are pretty well determined to have what you are selling anyway, aren’t they?

So, how DO you convince people to buy what you sell?

You convince people to buy what you are selling, no matter what it is, by:

* Knowing the market and the people you are selling to.

* Knowing the product that you are selling as if you gave birth to it yourself.

* Knowing how to read people.

* Knowing how to talk the language of different people.

* Knowing when to back off and when to push just a little bit.

THE KEY CONCEPT OF CONVINCING PEOPLE TO BUY WHAT YOU ARE SELLING, SIMPLY STATED, IS KNOWLEDGE. Knowledge is the key that will get your foot in the door, will get your point across, and most importantly, will get that sale made.

1: Knowing the Market and the People That You Are Selling To.

Have you ever seen an older man try to talk “hip” to you kids in the hope of making a sale? It is feeble. They are not buying it. He is uncomfortable.

A good salesperson knows the crowd he is selling to and knows how to talk to them. You simply need to know how to hit their buttons and how to do so while still using your own style and your own voice.

ENGAGE EVERY POTENTIAL CUSTOMER AS “THE” CUSTOMER. Make them feel as if they really matter.

2: Knowing the Product as if You Gave Birth To It yourself.

Your products are your children, and you should be able to rattle off information about them as easily as the names of your kids. There is just something comforting buying from someone who really knows what they’re talking about.

3: Knowing How To Read People.

A Good salesperson is like a good poker player. He knows when someone is bluffing him or stalling for time. He knows when they are about to all it quits and walk away. He knows this because much like a good poker player, he can read people. He knows the body language that says “sale” or “no sale”. He can see “lower the price” in their eyes.

If you have never been able to read people, consider taking a course in body language, or at least leafing through a book that explains the basics so that you can get the hang of it. KNOWLEDGE, ONCE AGAIN, IS POWER.

4: Knowing How To Talk the Language of the People.

The same way you need to know the market, you need to know how to talk to people around you. Again, you are not going to use language that is counter-intuitive to you. IT IS POSSIBLE TO LOSE A CUSTOMER IF YOU ARE NOT TALKING THEIR BUSINESS LANGUAGE. You can adjust the conversation as you go. If you think you are losing them, go basic, but never lowbrow them.

5: Knowing When To Push A Little Harder and When To Back Off.

Not everyone is an easy sale. Some need a little more convincing. As a salesperson, you have to be able to see the “line” – the line that separates “just hard enough” from “way too damn hard”, and you have to walk that line with your customers. This can be difficult, but paying close attention to customer’s “cues” will help you to better understand where they are in the sales process.

Author Bio: As a 30-year industry veteran, Marco Giunta has always had a futurist look at IT, and worked with many of the leading companies in the Outsourcing industry, in the likes of Tata, Accenture, Collective Technologies, Storage Networks, Cordiant Communications, Decision One and IBM. Author of newly published book “Rethinking Sales”. http://www.rethinkingsales.com

Category: Business
Keywords: sell, sales, selling,sell more,increase sales,power selling,getting new clients