What do you think is really important when it comes to selling skills? I’m sure a lot of you
would say product knowledge. Very true indeed, but do you think that that’s the
only thing needed to sell well? What about communicating the product knowledge
that we have? Do you think that we will be successful at selling a product if
we know our product very well but are unable to talk about it? So what happens
if we have our product knowledge and our basic communication skills in place
but have no idea about the psychology of our buyers and what they want? Wont we
waste a lot of time in trying to sell something that either they don’t want or
land up selling in a way that does not exactly match their mental make-up!
So now let me ask you the question again. What is that soft skills training companies should equip
their participants with in a selling skills training? Let’s look at the points one by one to get a deeper
understanding:
- Product Knowledge : This is undoubtedly the first point and without it a sales persons will really reach nowhere! He needs to be well trained in the product and have an in depth knowledge into its various segments. For this, the training needs to give him the knowledge and test him to find out how much he has retained. The trainee also needs to do his own research, which includes going on the internet and finding out more about the product as well as reading pamphlets, brochures, manuals and other paraphernalia that might be available. This will also help him feel more confident.
- Attitude : Another essential. Whether it is having a helpful attitude and wanting to sell a product to a customer who would be useful to him / her or having a never-say-die attitude and motivating you to keep going, a good attitude tops the list of most haves. Resilience is a rare commodity, but who said it cannot be cultivated!
- Communication Skills : Now this entails a large number of skills. It could have basic skills like questioning and listening to converse with the client and find out more about his / her needs or even more complex skills like negotiation skills. Whichever way, these skills are essential and will go far in transferring product knowledge to the client and in turn gaining an understanding of what the client wants.
- Etiquette : This doubles up as a hygiene factor as well as a wow factor depending upon the expectation of the client. So while being well dressed and polite may be impressive for one client it may just be the bare essential for another. Either way, maintaining etiquette is of utmost importance. After all, you don’t want to lose out on selling a great product just because you didn’t shave in the morning or you had a sad tone while conversing with the client on the phone!
- Customer Profiling : This is again important to understand the customer. Only once we understand a customer well can we actually figure out what he/she may want. Personality profiling is a great way to understand the different types of people ad what each of them would want. Understanding the customer’s needs also comes through by having good communication skills.
- Objection Handling : It is always good to learn from the mistakes of others rather than to have to invent the wheel every time and an objection list can really help do that. Have all the experienced executives pool in and come up with a list of objections they have faced in the past. Also ask them to come up with ways in which they handled the same successfully or they could have handled at that point of time. This can be a ready reckoner for new executives and can help them feel more confident by being more in tune with queries that customers are more likely to raise.
- Competition Analysis : Knowing what competitors are doing is good, not to put them down but to give you a good idea about your own Unique Selling Points and what different you can offer your client. However, trainees must be taught not to use this knowledge as a tool to pull other’s down as that can set a rather poor impression of the company!
- Neuro Linguistic Programming : This is a great way to get into the
psyche of the customer without him/her even knowing it. Techniques like
mirroring can be used successfully which directly influence the
subconscious mind and may help you tilt the weighing scale in your favour.
Now wouldn’t you want to learn that!
