Are you straining your brain to find the answer? Is it concluding business deals, overcoming sales objections, a perfect presentation, negotiations, first impression perhaps? What else is there?
Actually, none of the above. The answer is quite simple. And this is what I love – simplicity and common sense.
What are the three most effective sales techniques, then?
RELATIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP, RELATIONSHIP.
Have you ever asked yourself why you bought something from a nice though slightly less professional salesperson rather than from a highly qualified and trained seller who had, on top of that, ruthless confidence and a giant ego?
The answer is obvious – the congeniality, the understanding, the energy between us. The fact that someone cares how I, a buyer or client, feel beats all the professionalism and expertise.
As Ferdinand Foch says: “The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.” A salesperson who is confident about himself, his company and its products and services is close to winning. If he shows that he understands his buyer/client, cares about him, shows sincere interest in him, then he is a winner. And there lies the difference between the good and the best salespeople.
Simple, right? The best salespeople also put their egos aside and are fully aware that they can never stop learning, improving, doing their best, and also that nothing will ever be the best. These sales people listen to others, accept different opinions, learn also from buyers and clients and tell them that, have the courage to admit their own mistakes and learn from them in order to prevent them in the future, …
And how do we nurture our relationships with our buyers and clients? By remembering them more often than just before the New Year when everyone remembers them anyway. Be different, contact your clients during the year when they least expect it. How? A phone call, just to say hello, have a nice day, some questions about the vacation, a birthday card, a short coffee break and a chat, a brief e-mail that ends with a lovely thought. The list is endless.
What kind of a salesperson are you and which technique is the most important for you?