Are Untrained Sales Staff Ruining Your Business?
When people buy for the right reasons, they buy more from you more often and they then walk away with the best impression of your business, product or service.
On the flip side, what damage do you think the ‘shoot from the hip’ type of sales people could do to your business if they are selling any way they like, or the way they feel works best?
Most of the time sales people are the face of your business; they’re the people who help others to believe in your product and or service. They’re walking, talking advertisements and they’re people who should be able to answer any question about your business in a way that creates a positive impact.
Without the knowledge, motivation and skills to sell the way your customer likes to buy, how are your products meant to meet their market correctly? Letting an untrained sales member introduce your product or service to prospective customers could mean a direct loss of business and eventually a chain of losses. Rather than bringing in new business, an untrained sales team or person could be ruining what you have worked so hard to create; and if you think about it, at no fault of their own… Do they really know any better? Where do we go to get a formalised education in sales?
As an employer, effective sales should be your most valued new business strategy; and one that you continue to follow. The right sales people are essential in recruiting new business. The up side to hiring is that sales skills can be taught, so hiring the right people is as simple as finding people keen to learn.
LiveNOW Consultancy believes that there are 8 crucial skills that must be taught to sales people in order to effectively generate leads and sales.
All sales people must master:
- PROSPECTING and NETWORKING- Not only the art of generating new leads to your business but more importantly generate more QUALIFIED leads.
- INITIAL CONTACT and ONGOING CONTACT – How to create a powerful first impression whether it be face to face, telephone or getting past the dreaded ‘gate keeper.’
- NEEDS ANALYSIS and QUALIFICATION – Being able to identify the prospect’s real needs and wants to create a compelling reason to buy (80% of the sale) and eliminating possible future objections.
- EXPLANATION – How to provide solutions to their problems in a tailored fashion (this is normally done way too early by most sales people).
- PRICE PRESENTATION – Effectively explaining prices in a fashion that uses as many senses as possible to reduce objections, as after the price presentation is where most sales people will tell you objections arise.
- OVERCOME OBJECTIONS – Understanding why and what the objections are is the key, as most are not objections. Then – having the ability to eliminate them with the customer.
- CLOSE THE SALE and FOLLOW UP – How to initiate and close a sale / How to get them started easily with a strategy.
- REFERRALS – How to replace all leads with a new one, to reduce marketing costs and to keep the sales cycle alive.
Successfully training sales staff should be at the top of every business owners list. Ensuring that the people who represent your business are representing it correctly, and with the same belief in it as you is integral to its success.
If you are a small business, these skills in sales and sales process will determine a great deal of your success as you build your dream into a successful profitable business.
