When you are on the phone, in the field, in front of the prospect, you will be in a situation where you hear “No”. Thus, The Professional Salesperson is needed. The salesperson was created to Persuade; to transact. There is a common misconception in sales – there are salespeople and then there are closers. This is not true, a professional salesperson is a closer. I define a salesperson as someone who can turn a No into a Yes. If you cannot do that by definition you’re not a salesperon. This is not to be confused by the differences in selling our product and closing. I will break down the different skill sets needed to be a master salesperson, A master salesperson is anyone who can persuade/influence any situation subtly. Almost ninja-like – truthfully only another master can recognize a master. These people think like grandmaster chess players.
Sales get very over complicated and it doesn’t have to be that way. The skills needed are as followed;
- Communication
- Prospecting
- Discovery
- Sales Process Control
- Objection Handling
- Negotiating
- Follow up
All of the above are very important for mastery, if I were new to sales I would focus on Prospecting and Discovery. I do believe those are the 2 most important skills for a salesperson and carry more weight. At the core of those 2 skill sets are your ability to get someone’s attention, and the ability to ask quality questions.