Let’s assume you know the main elements of what it takes to sell your product. You understand the core qualities that go into being a great sales leader but need to touch up on some of the basics. Instead of signing up for sales 101, we’ve broken down some of the most basic yet often forgotten tips and tricks as it relates to selling.
It’s easy to get away from the basics because they seem so simple. Here are a 10 tried and tested sales tips that you may have forgotten about:
1. Ask for Warm Introductions & Referrals
One of the hardest things for a sales professional is getting the right people to listen to you. Cold-calling is difficult and according to our recent study, it shows no signs of getting better moving forward. Instead of wasting your time focusing on irrelevant leads, focus on quality by encouraging referrals and warm introductions.
2. Use Social Media for Prospecting
We all know the most popular channels for prospecting on social media but a few channels that are often overlooked are things like Quora and Slideshare. Both of these networks are filled with industry expertise sharing their thoughts and ideas on topics where your prospects could be spending their time.
3. Build Expertise Through Association
For years, sales professionals built their reputation by joining different associations and groups as if they were a badge of honour. Today, memberships aren’t enough to stand out as an industry expert and professionals must take their efforts a step further. One approach is to associate yourself with people who are experts and building relationships with them.
4. Show Expertise By Sharing Relevant Content
We live in the information age. Make an effort to ensure that the information you share on social media is relevant to your target audience and relevant to your industry. If you’re working in healthcare, you want your clients to believe that you’re not only a trustworthy sales professional but also someone who understands the healthcare industry.
5. Ask The Right Questions
It’s not an interrogation if you do it right. Asking the right questions can be the difference between delivering a solution that the client wants and completely missing the mark and your lead going to the competition. You need to have a sincere desire to understand your prospects problems and have an itch to try and fix them.
6. Create Quality Sales Kits
Earlier this year we talked about what you could find in our Sales Kits. A sales kit is just as valuable today as it was ten years ago if not more important recognizing that content can be forwarded and shared with an entire office in the matter of seconds. You want to ensure that the PDFs you send to your potential leads are well designed and effectively communicate your value proposition. The fact that these documents could make their way around an office should be enough to value putting in an effort to make them sharp.
7. ADRE: Make An Effort to Connect
The concept of ADRE is simple: Acts of Deliberate Relationship Enhancement. Make deliberate acts that improve and enhance your ongoing relationships with everyone from clients, past employers and current partners. Relationships are the foundation in which business is built on so developing these relationships will help you in the long-term.
8. Cut Back on the “Professionalism”
Instead of trying to be “professional” – Try to be respectful and true to yourself. A true leader embraces their own style of leadership and allows their skills in business do the talking for them. Instead of trying to be professional all the time, focus on the people you work with and building a relationship with them. In doing so, you will understand them better and be more likely to deliver the value they are looking for.
9. Keep Track of Connections
One of the easiest ways to “feel” productive is to go through the motions of sending around a handful of emails into the dark hole of a leads inbox. Instead of shooting emails into the dark, keep track of your connections and use social media and platforms like Introhive to better understand who can provide you with a warm introduction. People trust people. If you keep track of your connections along with their connections, it’s easier to be introduced.
10. Quality over Quantity in Business Cards
I couldn’t count how many times I’ve been given a business card before even telling someone what I do for a living. For some reason, sales professionals feel the need to shove business cards down the throats of everyone and anyone they meet at an event. Instead of taking this approach to networking you should get to know the people you meet and determine whether or not it’s worth exchanging information. Sometimes it’s just not worth the paper your info is printed on.
Read More: Rules for Assuming the Sale.