Hire Salesman
Useful knowledge for companies that want to hire salesman.
The biggest mistake a Salesman can do is: BEG
Beg for your client to buy your product and beg does not only mean to say, “Please buy my product,” literally, but also all this behaviour… all these words that give to your customer this impression.
Let me explain.
Someone buys something from you because of 3 reasons:
- He likes you
- He trusts you
- He sees value on what you are offering.
Never, ever put the blame for a lost sale to the customer.
When a customer does not buy that is because of 2 reasons:
- You
- The product (service) you are trying to sell
1. You, means (you don’t sound convincing, you do not know the product you are selling good enough, you are trying to sell in the wrong time, you are trying to sell it to the wrong person, you gave up to soon, you pushed too much etc.)
2. The product means simply that the product (or service) you are trying to sell is not good enough. (I can name you here thousands of examples), so before you fall in depression check out how competitive is the product or service you are trying to sell.
Selling is not about getting the “YES” you want; all that selling is about is not to lose your enthusiasm and your positive energy after all the “NOs” you hear.
… and the “NOs” you hear, and the way you handle this permanent rejection is what separates Salespeople from the rest of the world. If the persistence to continue, the persistence of believing in yourself and your product after all the rejection you are going to face daily and that is the reason why there are no salesmen (saleswomen) to find.
I CAN GUARANTEE YOU THOUGH THAT THERE IS A PROVEN METHOD NOT TO SELL YOUR PRODUCT AND THAT IS BEGGING. BUT, I HAVE THE ANTIDOTE FOR THAT.
BE CONFIDENT.
Charles Bukowski — “The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”
In a complex world, only stupid people are super confident because their realisation of the world is limited.
Having doubts is a sign of intellectuality however doubts don’t help you neither in life nor in sales.
Good news is that you can become confident in certain areas by applying the following 4 things.
To be confident, you have to do the following 4 things:
- Get to know your product as good as possible. Explain to your customer the benefits of the product but also address the negative parts of the product. Explain to him what he has to win by using this product.
- EXPECT to hear “NOs,” and LOTS OF THEM. Not everyone is going to buy your product or service so EXPECT TO HEAR LOTS OF “NOs”.
- BE AS EXACT AND PRECISE AS POSSIBLE. THE MORE PRECISE YOU ARE, THE MORE CREDIBLE YOU SOUND AND THE MORE CONFIDENT YOU ARE GOING TO BE.
- BE YOURSELF AND HAVE NO EXPECTATIONS FROM OTHER PEOPLE. BE HONEST ABOUT BOTH YOUR STRENGHTS AND YOUR FLAWS, ADDRESS THEM AS DIRECT AS POSSIBLE AND ONCE YOU DO, THAT IS GOING TO MAKE YOU CONFIDENT BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE, AND THIS CONFIDENCE IS GOING TO MAKE YOU SELL, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SEE THAT YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE FROM THEM, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO IDENTIFY WITH YOU AND YOUR FLAWS BECAUSE THEY HAVE ALSO FLAWS. DO NOT TRY TO BE ACCEPTED FROM YOUR AUDIENCE, ONCE YOU TRY TO BE ACCEPTED FROM SOMEONE, AUTOMATICALY YOU ARE BEGING FOR HIS ACCEPTANCE AND AUTOMATICALY YOU LOSE ON CREDIBILITY AND RESPECT, IN CONTRARY BY BEING YOUR SELF YOU DOMINATE AND INFLUENCE SITUATIONS AND OTHER PEOPLE.
Example
BAD:
You (Salesperson): Good morning, how are you sir today?
Customer: I am very good thank you.
You: So, are you interested in this new printer we are selling?
Customer: Yes, I am, I would like to know if this printer can print also in color, if he has Wi-Fi and would also like to know if it is compatible with my XYZ computer I have home.
You: Yes sir, this is a colour printer with Wi-Fi on it. I think it is also compatible with the XYZ computer you have home.
Customer: OK, thank you. I’ve been told that this printer can print also over 2,000 pages without changing the cartridge.
You: Yes, it can print 2,000 – 3,000 pages without changing the cartridge.
Customer: I’ve been told that the initial cartridge can print over 1,000 pages.
You: Yes, it’s true.
Customer: Then I think the XYZ printer your competitor is selling is a better choice.
You: The XYZ printer our competitor is selling is not a bad printer. It does not print colour, its functionality with wlan is questionable. In general, XYZ are not a good choice.
Customer: But 499$ you are asking for this printer is a lot of money. I can give you 399$ cash. If you want, otherwise unfortunately I will go and buy the XYZ printer from your competitor here in the same Mall.
You: 399$ is not possible, but let me see if I can make you a discount.
You (after 3 min): You can have a discount and buy this printer for 450$
Customer: No, 450 is too much. I think I will have to go to your competitor.
You: No, no wait. Let me see if I can get you a better discount.
……….
GOOD:
You (Salesperson): Good morning, how are you today, sir?
Customer: I am very good, thank you.
You: So, are you interested in this new printer we are selling?
Customer: Yes, I am, I would like to know if this printer can print also in color, if he has Wi-Fi and would also like to know if it is compatible with my XYZ computer I have home.
You: Yes sir, this is a colour printer with Wi-Fi on it. Because I am new in this store I don’t know if the printer is compatible with XYZ but I will ask and I will tell you exactly if it is compatible with your home pc. Another thing that I would like to tell you because many customers ask me is if this printer can print in different formats other than A4. This printer can only print A4 and A3 formats, it cannot print business cards or other formats other than those 2.
Customer: OK thank you. I’ve been told that this printer can print also over 2,000 pages without changing the cartridge.
You: This printer can print over 2,450 pages with the same cartridge, however, the cartridge given with the printer together can print only 200 pages.
Customer: I’ve been told that the initial cartridge can print over 1,000 pages.
You: That is only true sir if you set your printer to print low quality images. If you set your printer to print normal images is going to print max 200 pages, if you set him to print high quality images is going to print even less.
Customer: Then I think the XYZ printer your competitor is selling is a better choice.
You: The XYZ printer our competitor is selling is indeed a very good printer. However, the XYZ does not print colour and its compatibility with several Wi-Fi routers is questionable.
Customer: But 499$ you are asking for this printer is a lot of money. I can give you 399$ cash. If you want, otherwise unfortunately I will go and buy the XYZ printer from your competitor here in the same Mall.
You: Then, sir, I would advise you to go and buy the XYZ from the other store. As I said before is a very good printer as well. Is there something else I can do for you?
Vparagon is a sales outsourcing consultancy based in Barcelona Spain. I hope this article helped you to identify what is the biggest mistake a salesman can do, and help you identify this issue when you want to hire salesman.
