5 Tips to Start Selling Anything

How the Ultimate Salesperson Doesn't Sell Anything

First, let me tell you a little about myself. I have always been selling something, computers, marketing, consumer electronics, telecom, cars, and a plethora of "items / services" for all sorts of industries. I couldn't have been successful if I hadn't truly believed in what I was selling. But that's just it, in my opinion, that is the great separator between sales and order taking. A true "salesperson" has to be a consultant to their audience, if you just want someone coming to you and ordering something, just pay your marketing department well. My 5 tips on how to become the ultimate salesperson:

1. Believe: Belief, if authentic, is magic. First, it is important that you believe in yourself. Don't let others persuade you that you aren't great at sales or anything else for that matter. You must choose to allow yourself to win. Plus, don't take the sale too seriously and let your striving for the perfect sale get in the way of a great one. Also, believe in the product or service you are selling. If you don't think that it is great - find something else to sell. Your career and future depends on something that you believe in. I was recently in a franchise development meeting and many board members were asked a simple question, "Would you buy a franchise from this system?" The answer was, from many, "no.". How can someone think that others will be motivated to buy something if you wouldn't buy it yourself?
2. Tell Stories Passionately: Talk about experiences that result in emotional understanding. Don't try sell the "speeds and fees" (logic), instead, pull on the person's emotions. Steve Job's said it best: "The way to do that is not to talk about speeds and fees, it’s not to talk about bits and megahertz, it’s not to talk about why we are better than Windows. The dairy industry tried for 20 years to convince you that milk was good for you … and then they tried “got milk” and the sales went up. Got Milk wasn’t even talking about the product. In fact, it focuses on the absence of the product. But the best example of all, and one of the greatest jobs of marketing that the universe has ever seen is Nike. Remember, Nike sells a commodity. They sell shoes! And yet when you think of Nike, you feel something different than a shoe company. In their ads, as you know, they don’t ever talk about their product. … They honor great athletes and they honor great athletics. That’s who they are, that’s what they are about." This is how great salespeople make relationships. This is a huge part of the sales experience. If you catch yourself reading from a label, or sales sheet during your presentation, you my friend, need a different job. You need to be knowledgeable about a product before you start selling it. If you know nothing about the product or services you are selling, how can you be passionate? With great passion comes stories, and stories make relevant discussion, and with discussion comes questions, and when those questions are met on both ends with great answers, you can close the deal.
3. Inspire: Enthusiasm and inspiration are great assets in your personality. Obviously, certain people lack interest in certain topics, but I think you can make even the dullest insurance seminar an inspiring diatribe. (Okay, maybe not...) It doesn't hurt to try to get a person excited about your product and services. Maybe your business isn't sexy at all and you have a hard time dressing it up, or perhaps, you just don't care. Either way, you need to elevate your messaging. You will be far more successful closing deals if you can make someone think about their future experience and not the current costs. You ever hear of buyer's remorse? Yeah, it's kinda like that. Your customers should want it so badly, once their inspired, their last thought is how much. Elon Musk understands inspiration and how much work goes into ensuring success watch this part of his story to help you inspire yourself.
4. Listen: Buyers tell you everything, but don't just allow yourself to become the dreaded "order taker". Even waitstaff at restaurants try to upsell their clients, the good ones at least. Think of it like this: If you go to a fast food joint, the best your going to get, is "do you want fries with that?", which is barely a sale. Now, imagine yourself at a 5-star rated restaurant, you will probably expect to hear the specials, and have very responsive waiters. However, the best experience is when your waiter / waitress tells you which wines pair nicely with each of your courses, asks you if you have ever been to their establishment, suggests you look at their desserts, recommends their favorite dishes. These dialogs allow for them to listen to your likes and dislikes upfront, and without interrupting your experience. You didn't go to be sold something, you went to enjoy the atmosphere, the wine, the food not to buy! And that's just it - you don't go anywhere trying to be sold something. You might have to buy something but you would go out of your way to be sold something. This psychology is very important and that is why listening is absolutely critical. When you listen to someone and then suggest in turn dialog that meets their interest, you haven't violated their trust to discuss what they are actually their to buy. While extracting the data on their preferences you can start making conclusions. For example the waiter / waitress might listen to her customer say she doesn't like dry wine and doesn't like red wine so they might recommend going with a sweet white wine or sangria with sea bass as an entree.
5. Consult: No matter what your doing, don't try selling. Try consulting. Consulting will allow you to demonstrate superior knowledge about the product or services you offer. Remember this demonstration builds rapport with your prospective client. Be honest if you don't know something. It is only natural that someone might have a specific question or need that you aren't already familiar with, this is a good thing. Be willing to help and research with them or offer them another person to help guide them better. Whatever you do don't try to wing it. This not only increases your chances at disappointing your customer but at the same time decreases any chances that you are believable and that was number one - you can't believe in yourself if you are lying.

About | Nick Irmo

Nick Irmo is an experienced online marketing thought leader who has elevated hundreds of brands, unleashing their true potential. If you are a business owner or an agency and would like to discuss how Nick could help you realize your ultimate business self - please connect with him on LinkedIn.