In our last post we mentioned the that the most important selling skill in a tough economy (any economy actually) is the art and science of showing up. We like to call this the “hustle factor” because it’s through hustle that you out sell and out position your competition. The importance of being there applies to much more than just sales of course, heck, showing up is important in just about every endeavor or pursuit you have in life. And when we suggest you practice showing up we don’t just mean physically, we mean mentally as well.
You need to have your head in the sales game and to really care about your customer and care about doing what is in there best interest.
Most people don’t really care.
Discussing all the reasons and wherefore’s about why people don’t care is the subject for a future post. For now I want to move on to what we feel is the second most important selling skill in this tough economy. This one is a two part-er. If you’ve mastered the first most important selling skill you’ll be showing up everywhere there is a need or a demand for your product or service. Now what? Now you need to bring out selling skill #2 – you need to earn their trust and get them to like you.
Again, how you can do this is the subject of a future, much more in depth blog post or article, maybe even a new product! For now let’s concentrate on why you need to get them to trust you and like you. The why is simple…
People don’t buy products from people they don’t trust and don’t like.
Of the two qualities trust is by far the most important. You will sell more if people trust you but don’t like you than you will if they like you but don’t trust you…until someone they like AND trust comes along.
Trust is the linchpin of the sales relationship. You have a lot of technical knowledge, resources and intellectual capital you can make available to the customer but it will fall on deaf ears if they don’t trust you. Similarly, people buy for people they like and who are like them, given the choice. The effective salesperson needs to be a chameleon and adapt to the customer and prospect they are selling to at the moment. Sure, this can seem like a balancing act between being your true self and being someone wishy-washy who changes in the moment, but it really isn’t that hard if you have a strong sense of who you are and what you product, service and company can really provide.
We will go into much more depth on this subject in future posts or, you can fast forward to the Bold calling System now for tips and advice on how to build trust and be more like able.
So here are the first two selling skills in a tough economy we recommend you emphasize:
- Show up. Conventional wisdom says this is 80% of the battle. We beg to differ but agree it is important.
- Get them to trust you and like you.
Simple yes? Next time we introduce you to important selling skill #3.
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