Top 7 Principles Of Professional Salesmanship

I received a call from an ex-student this week, who is designing an induction programme for new recruits about to embark on a career in sales. He asked that if one had to create “twelve golden principles of selling”, what would I come up with.

I responded that I could do better than that - I could reduce my list to seven! Clearly this is a very subjective view but mindful of the fact that this exercise is designed to provide guidance to salespeople just starting on the first rung of the ladder, this is what I came up with.

1. Always Sell To People
   
   • People are different
   
   • No two sales are the same
   
   • Aim at becoming a people expert
   
   • Professional salespeople actually like people
   
   • People buy from people - they always will
   
   
2. You Have To Sell Yourself
   
   • Be interesting
   
   • Develop ‘intellect’
   
   • Never be arrogant - never talk ‘up’ or ‘down’
   
   • Respect the buyer and they will respect you
   
   • Develop your empathy levels
   
   • Learn to develop rapport
   
   • Control your ego levels
   
   
3. You Must Ask Questions And Listen To The Answers
   
   • Develop your questioning techniques
   
   • Remember What? Where? When? Which? Why? Who? And How?
   
   • Continually ‘test your understanding’
   
   • Listen to understand
   
   • God has given us two ears and one mouth, we should use them in that order
   
   • Successful sales professionals talk for 20% of the time and listen for 80% of the time
   
   • Develop your active listening skills
   
   
4. Features Must Be Linked To Benefits
   
   Remember:
   
   • Features are common - benefits are personal and specific
   
   • Use the ‘link phrases’ - ‘which means that......’
   
   • Be specific
   
   • Sell The Results – ‘Paint A Picture’
   
   • Discover ‘prime desires’
   
   • Personalise benefits
   
   • Describe end results
   
   • You Cannot Rely On Logic
   
   • 84% of all buying decisions are based upon emotion - not logic
   
   • What are the chief buying emotions? - Ego - Security - Pride Of Ownership - Greed - Health - Prestige – Status - Ambition - Fear Of Loss
   
   
5. Aim To Be Unique – ‘Me First’ Rather Than ‘Me Too’
   
   • Every business, every company, every product has something that is unique
   
   • Look outside the square
   
   • Identify the uniqueness of: - your product - your service - your company - yourself
   
   • Buyers buy solutions and results they do not buy products or services
   
   
6. Don’t Sell On Price
   
   • It is a ‘cop out’
   
   • Value your expertise - your products - your service and price accordingly
   
   • Always keep the ‘bottom line’ firmly in your mind
   
   • Anyone can give business away
   
   • Selling on price means we do not need sales people
   
   
7. And Finally: Be Professional At all Times
   
   • The greatest compliment a customer can pay you is to describe you as “professional”
   
   • Don’t worry about being liked –be respected.
   
   • Being professional is not one thing it is three:
   
   • It is what you do, what you say and how you present yourself,
   
   “When I see a bird that swims like a duck, sounds like a duck and looks like a duck; then I call that bird, a duck” Rudyard Kipling

Jonathan Farrington is the Managing Partner of The jfa Group http://www.thejfagroup.com. [http://www.thejfagroup.com] To find out more about the author, read his latest articles or to subscribe to his newsletter, visit: http://www.jonathanfarrington.com You can now also read his weekly blog for dedicated sales professionals: http://www.thejfblogit.co.uk