ChicExecs Senior VP of Elevate Lydia Vargo shares her tips on the three key skills of a successful salesperson on Forbes blog. Here is an excerpt from the piece.
Sales can be a tough gig, but it’s an exhilarating job that gives you a direct line to the customer. While some are natural-born salespeople, most of us have to develop our skills to continue being successful.
Three Must-Have Skills To Succeed In Sales
Everybody can improve their salesmanship. If you want to boost sales and learn to enjoy the sales process, cultivate these three skills.
1. Relating To People
Your prospects need to trust you before they become a customer. The problem is, according to Hubspot research, only 3% of people consider salespeople to be trustworthy. You have to find common ground with your prospect and relate to them on a human level.
And no, this doesn’t mean chatting with them about traffic or the weather. This is about connecting on a deeper level. When prospects trust you, they want to continue the relationship (and that often leads to a sale and potential advocacy).
2. Identifying A Need
Your business exists because it meets customers’ needs. Traditional sales assumes too much about the customer, which is really off-putting. That’s why skilled salespeople identify the customer’s real need.
3. Instilling Trust
According to an Edelman report (via Marketing Charts), 82% of U.S. customers would stay with a brand they trust, even if another brand “becomes hot and trendy.” Good salespeople see the value of trust and start building it immediately with the customer.
Every touchpoint matters in the sales process.
Read Lydia’s entire blog here.