How does one become a successful salesperson?

Blackdot research have isolated 7 frontline sales behaviours that directly impact frontline sales performance: Clinically prioritise around defined 'sweet spots' Cultivate ideas and relationships to gain access to decision makers Proactively challenge and gather intelligence on needs and decision drivers Ruthlessly qualify and disqualify opportunities Demonstrate value with relevant, commercial and differentiated propositions Consistently elicit stakeholders' latest thinking on decision drivers Actively control the end-to-end process Below I will overview best practice tips for becoming a successful salesperson across each. 1. Clinically Prioritise around Defined 'Sweet Spots' The Challenge: The addressable market offers an abundant number of potential prospects that demand tight segmentation and targeting Best Practice Mindset: Lasting commercial outcomes (for the client, our business and me) are maximised by targeting to an Ideal Client Profile Best Practice Tips: Target defined ‘Sweet Spots’: Focus on defined ‘Sweet Spots’ where significant market revenue, profit or growth potential exists that best leverage unique capabilities, insights and sources of competitive advantage. Pursue ‘Ideal Clients’: Filter the universe of possible ‘Sweet Spot’ names to focus all proactive sales activities on targets that fit a defined size, attractiveness and probability criteria. Prioritise systematically and dynamically: Regularly and systematically prioritise acquisition, growth and retention targets based on current and potential value and accessibility. Key Outcome: Better leverage of your competitive advantages and differentiators to win more strategic, high-value clients. 2. Cultivate Ideas and Relationships to Gain Access to Decision Makers The Challenge: Buyers are increasingly time poor, sophisticated and involving sales people later in the process. Best Practice Mindset: Creating value is the best way to gain access and earn the right to start a new conversation. Best Practice Tips: Sell High: Start high to identify and access the role types and contact names who possess the authority to influence the client’s buying process and make decisions. Create Relevance: Rapidly engage decision makers and influencers by sharing relevant, persuasive and valued insights on critical industry, organisational or role-based trends, challenges or opportunities. Leverage Connections: Build and leverage accumulated relationship ‘credit’ (with peers, friends, current and former colleagues, referral partners and thought leaders) to create sponsored, warm introductions to decision makers and influencers. Key Outcome: Gain cut through with resonant propositions that maximise face time with senior decision makers. 3. Proactively challenge and gather intelligence on needs and decision drivers The Challenge: Understanding the client's needs is a prerequisite for satisfying them Best Practice Mindset: All sales are founded on an unwavering commitment to solve the right problem and deliver lasting outcomes Best Practice Tips: Understand Needs Deeply and Decision Drivers Broadly: Dynamically and comprehensivelly question to deeply understand clients' current and emerging needs, and explore key decision drivers (such as relative importance and urgency, solution preferences, decision making processes and criteria, budget and expected ROI). Constructively Challenge the Client’s Thinking: Respectfully and provocatively challenge the client to better define underlying needs, test and shape ideas, explore new or different alternatives and scope possible solutions. Systematically Assess and Close Information Gaps: Systematically appraising the completeness and accuracy of information gathered on client needs and decision drivers and build proactive plans to close gaps during upcoming interactions. Key Outcome: Better leverage of your competitive advantages and differentiators to win more strategic, high-value clients. 4. Ruthlessly qualify and disqualify opportunities The Challenge: The expense of running a sales force is too significant to have sales people pursuing opportunities that aren’t real, attractive or probable Best Practice Mindset: The principle of return on effort governs everything I do (ie I will cull remorselessly to make room in my pipeline ...) Best Practice Tips: Assume nothing: Continually test assumptions, check facts and assertively seek new information on decision drivers, evolving needs and competitor positioning to accurately qualify opportunities. Ruthlessly disqualify: Ruthlessly and confidently exit opportunities based on confirmed but unfavourable information about needs and decision drivers at any stage of the process. Validate relevance: Validate the continued relevance of a given sales opportunity by confirming and clarifying its value, relative importance and urgency, client needs, solution preferences, the decision-making process, as well as budget and ROI. Key Outcome: Divert scare selling time to the largest, most attractive and most probable opportunities. 5. Demonstrate value with relevant, commercial and differentiated propositions The Challenge: Sell on value, not price. Best Practice Mindset: Opportunities that convert must deliver tangible benefits to the buyer and their organisation Best Practice Tips: Accurately set context: Clearly articulate a deep understanding of the client’s industry, organisational context and business challenges or opportunities, and use this as a platform on which to position their solution. Differentiate: Leverage competitive advantages and unique selling points to establish clear points of difference that help buyers rationalise and accelerate their selection decision (including appropriate comparisons to competitor offerings or the risk of doing nothing). Quantify value: Quantify value and prove the financial, business and operational benefits and outcomes of solutions in tangible (eg. monetary) terms. Key Outcome: Establish a clear point of difference through commercial, relevant and differentiated value propositions. 6.  Consistently elicit stakeholders' latest thinking on decision drivers The Challenge: Buying decisions are complex and dynamic which means that selling often becomes a competition for information Best Practice Mindset: Selling is a competition for information and intelligence - the more I know, the harder I can go! Best Practice Tips: Build Internal Advocates: Navigate the client’s formal and informal decision making processes by developing and leveraging client coaches who facilitate access, two-way information flow and advocate your solution internally and in your absence. Iterate and Evolve Offerings: Effectively compete for the latest intelligence on stakeholder opinions and competitor positioning to evolve offerings and value proposition to best align with changing client needs, buying drivers and solution preferences. Maximise Face-Time: Leverage your deal coaches to maximise face-time and meaningful contact with key decision makers and influencers. Key Outcome: Adapt and evolve offerings to meet the client’s changing needs and exert greater influence in the decision making process. 7. Actively control the end-to-end process The Challenge: With more ready access to information, buyers are less inclined to engage vendors early in their selection processes. Best Practice Mindset: Understanding the buying process enables me to control the sales’ progress Best Practice Tips: Establish how Clients Buy: Gain a thorough and explicit understanding of every client’s buying drivers, criteria, decision making process and authority. Use this understanding of the buying process and underlying need to influence, gain commitment to, and take ownership of, logical next steps. Disrupt Early to Create Opportunities: Enter the buying cycle early to positively disrupt the client’s status quo and proactively create opportunities. Maximise Meaningful Contact: Orchestrate more ‘face time’ and live contact with decision makers throughout the sales process to increase both the flow of information and opportunities to influence the client. Key Outcome: Fast track the sales process, increase conversion rates and maximise probability of deal success. To learn more about frontline sales behaviours, visit http://www.theblackdot.com.au/challenges/frontline-behaviours

What kind of salesman are you?  are you working in a local city? online? over the phone?  I can certainly help but I need more information from you!Judy Parkerhttp://www.sendgreetingcards.ca 

This is a life's work and a career.  Some people are born with this talent. Others, like me, are trained.  I would give you several simple tips:  (1) Listen to your customer (2) Fact find  (3) Create a solution to their problem (4) Develop Trust (5) Love what you do (6) Be committed to your craft.