Written by Rebecca White
Just like Liam Neeson in "Taken," to be a successful salesperson, you need to have a particular set of skills.
As your sales process evolves, it's important to keep your skills relevant and up to date. Plus, it can increase your sales.
In a case study by Rain Group, a global sales training organization, they discovered that a client who went through sales training closed 15.2% more deals and the profit margin on sales-won improved by 12.2%.
That's why professional development is essential for salespeople. So, how can you improve your sales skills? Below, you'll learn how to develop your sales skills and improve your performance on your team.
How to Improve Sales Skills
1. Attend sales training
Sales training and professional development opportunities can keep your skills fresh. Being a lifelong learner gives you a competitive advantage in the game of sales. Besides purchasing in-person or online sales programs, you can take free certification courses through vendors like HubSpot Academy or Sales Engine.
Courses or certifications can specialize in sales skills such as sales presentations, sales methodology, social selling, or sales coaching. When choosing a sales training program, consider things like length of program, focus, location, and price.
2. Implement roleplay
When you're on an exploratory call, you want to be prepared for every question, objection, or circumstance a prospect throws your way. Plus, it's important to practice the flow of conversation and learn how to ask questions authentically, instead of interrogatively.
Your team can practice roleplay on your own once a month, or you can find a sales training course that implements roleplay in the material.
There are several roleplay exercises your team could try. In this blog by Michael Pici, a vice president of business operations at HubSpot, he recommends roleplay exercises include:
Dealing with extreme situations
Getting comfortable breaking up with prospects
Challenging prospects on why they're stuck
Overcoming common objections
3. Practice public speaking
According to Glossophobia, as many as 75% of the population has a fear of public speaking. Even salespeople, who may be extroverted, can experience this. As with most things, practice makes perfect. The more you practice something, the more you get used to it, and the less nervous you'll be.
For sales reps, it's important to be a confident communicator, so you can empathize and sell to your prospects. During the sales process, you'll need to give sales presentations, conduct product demos, and persuasively speak to several decision-makers. Confident communication is critical for success.
To practice public speaking, attend events by organizations like Toastmasters, which provides opportunities for professionals to practice and learn public speaking so they will become confident communicators.
4. Find a mentor
Working with a mentor or receiving sales coaching can drastically improve your sales performance. Aja Frost, HubSpot Sales Blog contributor, writes about it in this blog. She says, "Research from the Sales Executive Council (SEC) examined thousands of salespeople and found receiving quality coaching helped them improve long-term performance by upwards of 19%.
A separate study from CSO Insights reveals a correlation between quota attainment and coaching. When coaching skills exceed expectations, 94.8% of reps meet quota. When coaching skills need improvement, only 84.5% hit."
Work with your manager or ask them if they can provide the names of successful salespeople at your company to mentor you. You can ask your mentor for advice on sales strategies, ask them to roleplay with you, or even have them shadow a sales call for direct feedback. This relationship will help improve several sales skills and provide you an opportunity for feedback.
5. Ask questions
Successful people ask questions. The same is true, of course, for successful salespeople. When a sales call doesn't go the way you thought it would or you get a question or objection you aren't sure how to respond to, ask your manager or peers for advice. It's important to ask questions, so you can quickly solve those problems when they come up again.
In addition to asking questions in your role, it's also important to ask your prospect the right questions. Learn about their pain points and find out what their goals are. Only then can you truly begin to find a solution and understand how your product or service can solve their problem.
6. Become a lifelong learner
If I haven't said it enough, being a lifelong learner will help you improve your sales skills. The sales industry is continuously changing due to updates in technology and culture. To continue being a sales expert, it's important to read articles and books, listen to podcasts, and be active and engaged in your work.
For example, if you're a salesperson at a software company, reading articles on the software industry will help you prepare for questions that prospects may ask and position your product or service in context.
7. Improve prospecting skills
Although prospecting isn't the most glamorous aspect of sales, it's one of the skills that can increase your sales the most. It's also a task salespeople spend the most time completing.
That's why sales reps should enhance their prospecting skills. In order to effectively prospect leads, you can use several prospecting techniques, including making warm calls, hosting webinars, and spending time on social media.
8. Review your sales calls
You can learn a lot from reviewing what you did well and what went wrong in recorded sales calls. Ask your sales manager if they host film reviews — and start one with your peers if nothing's currently available. Film reviews allow salespeople to listen to and provide feedback on a recording of a sales rep's call.
Aja Frost says, "The same question comes up again and again: ‘Why did this prospect take the call?' If the rep can't answer this question, it's usually because they've failed to identify their buyer's most pressing need. And that indicates they may lose the deal. Without knowing what's driving their prospect, the salesperson can't effectively explain their product's value."
Film reviews give you an opportunity to improve your sales skills so you can increase your sales. When you're participating in a film review, listen more and talk less. You might get feedback based on how personalized the sales call was, how well you understood buyer pain points, your overall attitude and authenticity, how well you set the agenda, or how well you knew the product.
Go into film reviews with a rubric or template in mind so you know what items you want to cover and will have specific action points. For example, you could ask colleagues to rank your questions, authenticity, and product knowledge on a scale of one to five. Then, you could ask for specific action items that you could implement to improve.
9. Listen to feedback
In the same vein, if you are taking part in film reviews, listen to the feedback you receive from your peers and supervisors. It can be hard to hear critiques and criticisms on your performance, but feedback is critical to improving your sales skills.
Pay attention to critiques on the questions you're asking, the flow of the conversation, and your rapport. These are critical sales skills that sales reps need to master to achieve success.
For example, during a film review, you might get the critique that the conversation felt more like an interview than an authentic conversation because of how quickly you went from question to question.
In this instance, you might adjust your sales call to include more follow-up questions or small talk at the beginning of the conversation.
10. Stay connected to the customer
In order to effectively make a sale, you must build rapport with your prospects. However, this isn't easy to do in a few minutes with a stranger on the phone. To improve your sales skills, consider your connection with your prospects. Have you done your research, thought of interesting questions, and practiced your exploratory calls?
The key to building relationships is authenticity. Having an authentic, productive conversation is one of the best ways to stay connected with your customers and improve your sales.
For example, if you've done your research, you can talk about something the prospect has posted online. Use dialogue like, "I saw on LinkedIn that…" or "I read your blog that...". These are personalized ways to strike up authentic conversation with your prospects.
11. Prepare for objection handling
During your sales calls, you will get objections and questions about your product or service. That's why it's important to be as prepared as possible for those objections and have canned answers ready.
To prepare for common objections, learn about your buyer persona and take time to understand their pain points. Ask questions like "Do they need our help?" and "Can we help them?".
By putting care and attention into your prospect's pain points, you'll improve your sales skills and enhance your performance.
12. Play with your closing techniques
Your sales process is constantly being iterated upon. To improve your sales skills, try different closing techniques. Adam Wiggins, a marketing professional, formerly of SalesITV, writes about closing techniques in this blog. He says, "Because sales professionals are expected to generate the best possible win rates for their effort, a large number of closing sales techniques have been developed over the years."
Wiggins says you can use techniques such as:
Now or Never Closes: This is where salespeople make an offer that includes a special benefit prompting immediate purchase.
Summary Closes: With this closing technique, salespeople reiterate the items the customer might purchase (stressing the value and benefits) to get the prospect to sign.
Sharp Angle Closes: Prospects often ask for price reductions or add-ons because they know they have the upper hand — and they also know you expect it. If you have approval from your sales manager, try the sharp angle close technique to catch these prospects by surprise.
Question Closes: It's imperative reps ask prospects probing questions.
Assumptive Closes: This closing technique draws on the power of positive thinking. If you believe, from the first piece of email outreach, you'll close this deal, it can have an incredible effect on the rest of the sales process.
Takeaway Closes: If you have kids, you've likely noticed taking a toy away from them makes them want it more than ever. Use this similar psychological practice on your prospects.
Soft Closes: The soft close is a way to show your prospect the benefit of your product, and then ask a low-impact question to ascertain whether they'd be open to learning more.
By playing with your sales techniques, you'll continue to iterate and improve your sales skills.
13. Iterate on your sales cycle
Your sales cycle is usually a tactical approach to the way you sell your product or service. Typically, this isn't something that's going to change. However, it's important to iterate at each stage of your sales cycle.
For example, if your sales cycle follows the trajectory of "prospecting, connecting, researching, presenting, and closing," you should consistently study ways to improve your prospecting skills. You should also read up on how to have a successful exploratory call, practice public speaking, and try different closing techniques.
By iterating on each stage of your sales cycle, you'll continuously improve your sales skills and reach higher numbers every month.
14. Track your progress
The best way to improve your sales skills is to track your progress. To track your progress, set sales goals and record your performance every week or month. You can even implement a sort of A/B test.
For example, begin by working on one item from this list. Let's say you're going to try different closing techniques. Record your current close rate and then track your close rate using that technique. Has your close rate improved? A test like this can help you isolate what's working in your sales process and what doesn't have an impact.
15. Enhance listening skills
In order to be an effective salesperson, you must hone the art of active listening. Typically, when a prospect is talking, you might be thinking of your response and generating answers to questions in your head.
Instead, truly pay attention when your prospect is talking. Repeat what they said and ensure you're understanding them correctly. This helps you understand what their problem is and if you can solve it for them.
To increase your sales and improve your performance, consider professional development opportunities. Always be on the lookout for ways to continuously build upon your sales skills and boost your numbers.
Want to learn more about sales skills? Check out our blog, 10 Essential Selling Skills Every Sales Rep Needs.
Hope you're not going insane.
I'm Al Rossi, founder of Sellico Consulting. The goal of Sellico Consulting is, through sales mentoring and training is to help companies and people move to the next level in their sales success, productivity and profitability. We act as a sales mentor and sales trainer for your company and/or your clients as a sub-contractor and/or supplement to your existing team.
I personally wanted to reach out to see if you are satisfied with your current sales performance. If not, let's schedule a FREE exploratory call in order to discuss how we can help your organization meet your sales expectations, goals and objectives. Please visit Sellico Consulting Calendar to schedule a phone conversation that fits your schedule.
Sellico Consulting specializes in five (5) consulting areas:
43+ Years Experience in Information Technology
43+ Years Sales & Business Development Experience
18+ Years Sales Management Experience
15+ Years CRM Experience
15+ Years E-rate Experience
Please visit the following sites to getting a better picture of Sellico Consulting
Looking forward to a positive response.
Al Rossi-Founder
Sellico Consulting
alrossi@sellico-consulting.com
661-376-0150
Comments