Sales Training is for Everyone

Everybody knows the importance of sales to a company, but many still think attending sales training courses are only for newbies. Others think that their in-house training is enough to do the job. The truth is it does not matter how good you are, you will still be beaten if your competitor is better!

The selling process requires not just one skill; it is composed of stages that require a different type of proficiency in each stage. To give you a better idea of what skills may be lacking in your sales arsenal, below are the six major stages in selling and the qualities needed to perform well in the process:

1. Prospecting. This is the initial stage wherein you are looking for customers. Resourcefulness and patience are the qualities most needed in this task to come up with a comprehensive list of prospects. A sales person must be resourceful enough to be able to know where to get the information.

2. Qualifying. After making the list of prospects, try to analyze what your chances are of making a sale with each client. Weed out the unlikely prospects so that you can focus on those with the most potential. Here you will check if the prospect has the need, the capability to pay and the authority to make or influence the purchase decision.

3. Presenting. Here is where you show your product or service’s advantages in a manner that is convincing. The sales person will not only be selling his product, he must also impress the prospect with his credibility and the company he represents.

4. Handling objections. This is when you entertain questions that prevent your customer from proceeding with the purchase. Two of the most common objections pertain to price and advantages/disadvantages over competing products. Here is where the sales person must be well-trained because there are so many possible questions.

5. Closing the sale. The closing is when you ask for the signature or payment to formalize the sale. In an actual sales situation, it usually takes several closing attempts to make the sale. Normally, the client is hesitant and voices concerns or objections that must be resolved before the sale is approved. The sales person must be persistent and not be shy to ask for the sale several times.

6. Follow-up service. After making the sale, it is important to keep in touch with the customer and to make sure that everything is going well with the purchase. Remember that the end of one sale is the beginning of the next!

Even the best salesmen still have room for improvement. Now is the best time to start upgrading your company’s sales capabilities with more training. BusinessCoach, Inc., a leading business seminar provider, conducts programs to help improve selling skills. Contact them at 727-5628 / 727-8860, or visit their website www.businesscoachphil.com for details.

Click here to view details of the seminar: Competitive Selling Techniques »

*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.

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