Selling skills

[Anonymous No.581636]

I've been working in sales for the past 3 months and am looking for any and all tips on how to sell including building rapport and closing. I did door to door for a month and am now working a stand in shopping centres, so would also appreciate help getting prospects attention.

I feel I had been learning a lot up until recently and my progress has begun to slow. Anybody with sales experience on /biz/?

[Anonymous No.581641]

>>581636

enjoy a dead soul son, sales is the lowest of the low get out of that shit

[Anonymous No.581646]

Watch all Brian Tracy's vids on youtube.

[Anonymous No.581647]

>>581646
Starting with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPDdrH3_Jrs

[Anonymous No.581653]

>>581636
Op, if thats you in the pic, you can start by wearing socks. LOL jk.

[Anonymous No.581660]

>>581641
There are days when I'd agree with you but I usually have company on the stand and manage to get some banter out of prospects. It's low on the ladder but it's absolutely possible to make more than the guy above you if you're willing to learn and work hard.

>>581646
>>581647
Are they all an hour long? I've seen his books posted here before. Are you in sales yourself?

[Anonymous No.581665]

>>581660
Yes most of them are quite long, but they are packed with tons of valuable info. I am not in sales but I enjoy the psychology/deception aspect of it and use the techniques in other areas of my life.

[Anonymous No.581668]

You might also enjoy Jordan Belfort's Straight Line Persuasion (you can find it on torrent sites). It's targeting cold calling but you can use some of the techniques in real life sales. The movie Wolf of Wall Street is based on this guy.

[Anonymous No.581715]

>>581636
I tried sales as a side job during college (selling phones subscribtions etc) but sucked at it. Now a few years later I realize why. I looked to young (an old guy in the store sold way more, I think mainly because he looked reliable), and I tried to sell from technical knowledge and kindness instead of just telling what the customers wanted to hear. Also I saw a interesting documentary of a big store in London (liberty of london), where some successful salesmen talked about the way they work (maybe you can find it online).

GL my friend

[Anonymous No.581733]

>>581665
Yeah the psychology of sales is interesting. A few days ago myself and someone I work with had a good laugh over how we're getting paid to make people believe they want something they really don't. Thanks for the link.

>>581668
I've watched about a quarter of the video about Straight Line but I couldn't shake the feeling he was just selling himself in it. I got the impression he was more concerned with making you believe you could sell rather than actually helping. Typical salesman.

Can anyone corroborate? Might give it another look.

>>581715
This was one of the first things I had to work on. When I started I just informed and asked rather than creating desire and steering them towards a close.

Found the documentary http://www.channel4.com/programmes/liberty-of-london
Think I'll watch a few episodes a week if I find the first episode helpful.

[Anonymous No.581821]

>>581636
Did you ever see Glengarry Glen Ross? A real sales job is one where you get good leads, not going door to door. Door to door and telemarketing is the lowest rung on the ladder. Of course they want someone good to get the good leads, a closer.

One thing a lot of salemen don't do is what they're supposed to. When I call interested in a product, call me back if not that day then the next day. Be able to answer questions about the product. Be able to do simple things like that and you're already ahead of 50% of salesmen.

[Anonymous No.581837]

>>581636
I was in sales up until last month (I started it for the challenge, I left when they said I'm one of the best hires they've made, I have an invite back to the company etc)

Sidenote - I actually started learning to sell because it got me out of my super shy autist comfort zone, and I knew it was something I needed to do, so trust me as long as you're intelligent enough the skills can be learned.

Really it's just about asking the right questions and matching the product you're selling to their answers. Sales is about building rapport and relationships now (but also qualified leads do help a ton... I've called numbers out of the phone book and I've bought in leads and I know which I'd rather do on a daily basis)

Here are a few cliche-sounding-but-entirely-true rules I've found really helpful.

>You were born (hopefully) with two ears and one mouth, so use them in that proportion
>Be interested, rather than interesting
>People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care
>The fortune is in the follow up
>Some Will, Some Won't, So What? Someone's Waiting
>People buy people, not products
>Facts tell, stories sell


That's about all I can think of for now. They all sound like complete bullshit but they're true! I'll hang around for 10 minutes in case you want to ask anything.

Oh and in "stop acting rich" by the guys who wrote the millionaire next door, they revealed a quarter of millionaires' first "proper" job was a sales role. Whatever you do in life, sales is a skill that will help you succeed, so keep at it OP.

What part of your progress specifically has begun to slow down, can you pinpoint it?

[Anonymous No.581841]

>>581715
I started selling when I was 18, in people's houses. I had moderate success, made some extra money for myself but not a huge amount. I honestly think any age limitation is created in our own minds, not the prospect's, sorry dude. Yes it gets easier as you get older but age alone won't stop someone making deals. I say that in the hope of helping any young people reading this rather than just trying to argue!

[Anonymous No.581874]

>>581821
Yeah got recommended it by a friend when I told him I started doing sales. Would like to get closer to that sort of position but we'll see.

>>581837
Thanks for the reply, I've found some of those ("people buy people" in particular) helpful in the past. "Facts tell, stories sell" is one I haven't heard but can confidently say it's true and can recall a few sales that fit with it.

Nothing in particular has slowed down in progress. In my first 2 weeks I was literally learning something every day and improving and I just want to keep the momentum going. One problem I have is keeping to a structured pitch. I can talk with people easily but if I'm not thinking ahead while talking I find myself breaking fluidity of the pitch or repeating myself. Otherwise I've been paying more attention this week to steering a pitch towards the close and I have a lot of room for improvement. I find things like "What do you think of that then?" or "Are you happy with that?" work well as a negative response doesn't stop you closing again.

Watching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPDdrH3_Jrs now. I've got to say Brian Tracy really knows his stuff

[Anonymous No.581915]

>>581874
That's right, another bullshit-but-not phrase: ABC, Always Be Closing.

You go into a conversation knowing what YOU want the outcome to be (a signature, a purchase, an appointment). There's every chance that it'll never get there because "Some Won't (So What)", but at the same time don't give up on a pitch just because it goes wildly off track. "Never decide that this isn't for your prospect, you do not have that kind of power over them".

With that in mind, knowing the outcome of the conversation before you've even said hello to the prospect, it's like knowing where you're going to drive to before you even get in your car. (This will help with your breaking fluidity of the pitch, I swear!)

You know the destination, and you need to keep your eye on it. Every time the prospect wanders off, it's your job to nudge your conversation back on track. Don't do it in a rude way - listen to them, and by all means build rapport with them if you can whilst they're nattering, and DEFINITELY listen for things in their ramblings that will help you sell your product, but at some point you have to steer them back on track. This involves closing right the way through the conversation, just having a "chat" with them about the area your product covers, no matter how indirect it gets. You may not get to do your super slick rehearsed pitch to them, but it doesn't matter - sometimes they talk for so long and you've listened so politely that you've built up trust and they feel indebted to you, and place an order without actually asking what the price is. It's happened to me a couple of times - rare, but it happens!

[Anonymous No.581926]

>>581874

A couple more thoughts:

Perhaps what you might be doing is focussing a bit too much on your script. I had to rely on a script to get me through phone calls when I started out, believe me, but as you become more confident of your skills and knowledge you'll start to shift your focus off of the script and onto the outcome of the conversation. Sales isn't rocket science - skills play a part, but there are only really a handful of main objections. Once you've heard them all a few dozen times, you'll know how to handle them. That'll give you confidence and you'll become more relaxed, more postured, and start "chatting" to the prospect rather than "pitching" to them.

It's good that you're asking them questions to keep them involved in the interaction. Forgive me if this is stuff you already know and I'm being a bit patronising, but there's a tweak I'd make to the questions.

>Are you happy with that?
Very closed question. That is, it's a "yes" or "no" question. You want to get them engaged in the conversation - sales is ALL about information, and controlling the interaction. The only way you keep control of it (so that you can know what move you make next) is by getting them to give you the information running through their heads about your product, and "yes I'm happy with that" or "no I'm not happy with that" will never give you enough information to know that you've handled all their objections.

(I did used to say "are you happy with that so far?" after I'd shown them an initial presentation, but it was only to qualify whether it was worth my time sitting down with them for the next step to talk about prices etc. Always Be Closing!)

[Anonymous No.581937]

>>581874

>What do you think of that then?
This is good because it's an open question. It invites them to give you information, rather than just a "yes" or "no". However, it does still invite negative responses, as you've alluded to yourself.

I'd humbly suggest trying out some open questions that get them thinking positively about your product (again, controlling the flow of the conversation from both sides)...
"What do you like best about what you just heard/saw?" after the initial presentation is a good one. It immediately gets them thinking about the GOOD parts. I don't know if you live in the UK, but if I ask someone "What do you think about that then?" they're instantly thinking critically! "Well, this didn't seem so good, and that part didn't sound as good as the other shop down the road put it"... so why not make them tell you which bits appealed to them most, so that you can play on those factors for the rest of your pitch!

If you've got good rapport with them, literally just smile at them and say "Which bit's YOUR favourite?" - pretend you've just seen a movie with your best friend, and you're comparing the bits you liked best. Say it exactly like that. It's nice and informal, drops their guard, builds rapport, and gets them talking about the bits they like of your product.

Whatever bit they liked best, the next words out of your mouth are ALWAYS "Me too!"... ALWAYS. Don't focus their mind on bits you liked but they had no interest in.

Honestly, sales is a lot easier when you get the prospect to tell YOU what's good about YOUR product haha. Literally sometimes after that all you have to do is ask the closing question! "Me too! So shall I get this put through for you?" - at that stage they'll tell you if they have more questions they need answering.

Anyway I feel I'm getting excited and going on with myself now.

So which bit of what I've covered is going to boost your sales the most OP?

(I hope to god you see what I did there)

[Anonymous No.581947]

>>581915
>You go into a conversation knowing what YOU want the outcome to be
This made me realise my objective going into every conversation has been just to have a conversation and THEN steer it towards the close.

>Perhaps what you might be doing is focussing a bit too much on your script.
This has never been a problem for me. The way my successful pitches would usually go:
-Get the prospect to the stand with a hook
-Ask a few probing questions
-List relevant benefits
-"All I need to get you started is a a few details (nonsensitive)"
All the while building rapport hopefully.

But I still find myself repeating benefits, losing my train of though, or asking closed questions in the middle of a conversation. I guess it's a problem with controlling the conversation.

>Are you happy with that?
I like it because if they say no you're still open to ask what's putting them off. They give you an objection, you give them a response, and you close again.

Out of interest, what did you sell?

[Anonymous No.581954]

>>581937
>"What do you like best about what you just heard/saw?"
I like this. Especially the cheeky response, which is the sort of thing I do whenever I can.

>Anyway I feel I'm getting excited and going on with myself now.
Not at all, I'm taking notes along with things I want to remember from Brian Tracy's talk. I'm from the nice green island to your west and people here love to tell you how you're wrong/they're smarter than you. I appreciate the help man.

[Anonymous No.581969]

>>581954
I'm glad!

But yeah, definitely have fun with sales. a) you've got to have fun with it or you'll end up frustrating yourself at all the dead-end conversations you have, b) you'll come across as a more likeable and genuine person if people see you having fun doing what you do and c) it will result in more sales.

I haven't checked out Brian Tracy myself but a lot of colleagues do recommend him. I can't remember half the books I've read on sales, cold calling, mental attitude, all that kind of stuff, but I do remember reading Selling 101 by Zig Ziglar and thinking it had helped a lot. How to Win Friends and Influence People is a game changer in terms of rapport building too. There was one called Bare-Knuckle Selling too which, despite the cutthroat-sales-type title, was actually a decent book.

[Anonymous No.581980]

>>581947
That doesn't sound like a bad process. I get what you mean now - you're talking to them and all of a sudden in your head you think "I know I'm waffling but I have no idea how to stop" hahaha. Everyone does it man don't worry. But that's another useful tip - don't keep talking just to fill an awkward silence. I know it's a natural human reflex, but again you can use it to your advantage to control the conversation. You can ask them a question, they answer it, and you keep your mouth shut, and they start talking again to fill the silence giving you more information!

It's just about holding your nerve and going against your natural reflex to talk. Try it, it's hilarious doing it your first few times and watching them break the silence.

It's all about uncovering and handling objections so no problems there bud.

Most recently I was part of a sales/real estate hybrid. Selling residential houses, but not like a traditional estate agency - more like a sales force that deals in property, so the commissions were much better than normal estate agency. On the phones all day, minimum call time 3 hours per day/100 calls per day, but if you wanted to smash it you'd put in 4-5 hours per day solid call time. Before that I tried recruitment for mid-high level financial positions in London's square mile and Canary Wharf, and before that (where I learned and honed all of the skills that got me those two jobs) I joined a network marketing company that my parents were doing. I've also tried a bit of haggling for vintage/antique gold and silver at car boots but to be honest, that market's changed and there's not a lot of it about any more, people sold it all when gold prices shot up a couple of years ago. It was fun though, and if you got it right the margins were crazy!

What are you selling? How long have you been doing it now?

[Anonymous No.581999]

Very helpfull thread thanks for the advice and links.

[Anonymous No.582003]

>>581999
no worries m9, glad it helped.

Sales will get anyone anywhere they want to go. I always remember Robert Kiyosaki saying he sat down with a journalist, who took the piss because his book "wasn't well written" yet he was a #1 new york times best seller... he pointed out to her that the clue is in the name - "best selling", not "best written". Everything in life worth having involves sales, whether it's career, a new house, a new car, a significant other, persuading your buddies to go to a particular club and not the shit one they've planned on going to, so learn the skill and take it forward!

[Anonymous No.582029]

>>581636 It's a mind game brotha...you have to feed your mind...read. Thats the only way the Jedi mind trick works. But the remains is that u quit d2d after a month...You don't have the skin yet to be a real sales guy. If you can't take it in the chops and get your shit pristine, gtfo of sales for sure.

Sales co. owner/operator

[Anonymous No.582032]

>>582029
Ok I just read my post and it sounded better in my head...The main point is YOU have to train YOURSELF. What these guys are saying is accurate, but you're most likely not going to print this page and study it...and I don't recommend you do.

The only way to get better is by mastering one thing then moving to the next thing.

Start with a basic sales book from Brian Tracy or Zig Zigler or whatever, someone reliable and not off the wall, and STUDY it.

Read one thing and master it, then move to the next. You shouldn't have quit d2d if you want to be in sales. There isn't a better way to get your skills sharp and your skin thick before moving onto something more lucrative on the rep level if you don't move up in the d2d stratosphere.

[the lector No.582122]

As a newbie myself. one year under my belt, I'd say memorize your scripts, practice them in front of a mirror and buy good leads. and have fun

[Anonymous No.582149]

>>581954
OP i found your problem.
you are asking the wrong questions, each product has a specific purpose and you must create a question that at the same time the customer answers truthfully (thought provoking) and that helps your sales pitch.

Example i sell tvs, dont ask"do you like the picture/are you happy with the tv you have at home,etc(basically what you ask)"
instead i ask them what show they watch the most when theyre not harassed by kids/wife etc.
instantly lose the barrier between salesperson and customer, talk about new episodes whatever. mention a feature that will enhance their viewing and go back to talking about x.

if youre going to do sales for a long time you truly need to step back and reevaluate yourself, you get into the rythm of trying to rush through all the points and its helpful to clear your mind and watch some educational seminars.

[Anonymous No.582150]

Not OP, but I having an issue with my D2D job right now.

Basically my first week out I hit high marks as a sales rep, did really well and made a bit of money. Most of my coworkers say it was because of the initial excitement of being out on my own. Recently, I've been suffering with a lack of success(I haven't closed a deal in 2 weeks) and I'm sitting on the hot seat. A lot of my coworkers say, it looks like a lack of confidence and I can't help but agree. I've been trying to address the issues but I've had no luck and I'm ready to give up. What hurts even more is that 2 new guys came in and smashed their goals while I'm just kinda sitting there doing nothing. My question is, how does one build confidence in themselves and their ability to sell?Also, how does one take control of their prospect and get them to the close? I can't afford to fail at this.

[Anonymous No.582848]

>>581969
Yeah everyone I work with good fun. Anyone who hasn't been fun hasn't lasted. Got 1 sale on a stand with 2 people today with a target of 6 but still managed to have fun. Otherwise it was a rough day but managed to keep control in at least 3 presentations today with stuff I thought of from this thread (so keep it coming).

>don't keep talking just to fill an awkward silence
Used this in the sale I did manage to close today
>it's hilarious
Also right on this.

What's recruitment like? What do you do on a day-to-day basis? I'm signing people to an electricity provider (not in-house), been doing it since 1st of December. Worked for 6 weeks as an in-house fundraiser for a charity door-to-door. I said 3 months in the OP but I like to think I was still learning a bit through talking to people and reading up during the time I spent between jobs.

>>582029
>>582032
Didn't quit, whole department was let go. I'm making sure to read the notes I take during work while I'm commuting and before I go to bed. Give me your best recommendation for a newbie so I have something to focus that energy on.

[Anonymous No.582879]

>>582122
I don't get leads. Just work a stand (for now). Think you could tell me a bit about leads? Hadn't heard of leads til I saw Glengarry Glen Ross if you were smart about getting leads I imagine it would add another layer to the game.

>>582149
Cheers, I always make sure that to point out that certain features would be beneficial to the prospect.

>>582150
>>581980
Glad to see smash is a universal sales term.

They're probably right to be honest. The first sale of the day is the hardest because you're thinking "what if I get no sales today?". Did you notice in your first week that after you got a sale you pitched better, were more in control and talkative? It's because you're then expecting them to buy and that counts for a lot as others have said. I'm speaking from my experience but I find others I know to be the same.

Don't worry about other people smashing it while you're not even off the mark. Anyone can have a bad streak and you can still improve on your confidence by practicing. When someone answers the door to you they have no idea who you are. For all they know you've absolutely no reasons not to be confident, and you're never going to see them again anyway. Always try to build rapport but find your own style. You don't have to be this super cocky salesman, you can just be a likeable guy doing his job who you may as well have a chat with and maybe buy him (people buy people).

I don't have enough experience to cover everything in your post but if you don't believe you can sell, you won't. So you may as well pretend you believe you can because what have you got to lose?

[Anonymous No.582962]

>>581665

[Anonymous No.584506]

>>582150
Another D2D guy here, what are you selling mate ?

[Anonymous No.584533]

>>582150
Cocain or amphetamine

[Anonymous No.584553]

>>581636
Well first off don't try to be an annoying son of a bitch who pitches the product first hand.
Don't even mention the product at all. Notice them. Look at what they have what they're wearing. You might wanna talk to them a bit more about themselves. Wait for them to prop up a question about your product. This is social marketing and it is very very good. At my former job I had to get people to sign up for store credit cards. I would average, I'd say 8 a day whilst the top person in other stores was averaging maybe 3 or 4. Anyways you just gotta look for insecurities. Say you sell proactive. It's very easy to tell people that it will help clear up their face. Basically people will spend money when they feel insecure. If they didn't buy from you, they didn't feel insecure.

[Anonymous No.585220]

>>584553
>If they didn't buy from you, they didn't feel insecure.
you're a monster goddamn lmao

[Anonymous No.585243]

>>584553

Decent advice. People DO NOT WANT TO BE "SOLD"! They want to feel in control. They want to be a savvy buyer. First and biggest mistake you can make is to puncture their feeling of self importance. This doesn't mean you can't make them feel insecure, just let them do that on their terms w/o them knowing that you know.

Always talk to them about themselves.

[Anonymous No.585274]

Hey OP i've been working for the beast for about half a year now.

Just assume things at people in a polite way and they'll tell you more than what you need to know.

"Oh so you've got ____ already?"

People cannot wait to tell you shit if you ask questions in that manner.

[Anonymous No.585660]

How does a person who does not work with sales and probably won't for a long long time learn sales skills?

Isn't sales skills a mix of interpersonal skills, charisma, general social skills and persuasion? Or something like that?

How can i practice this without actually having a sales job?

[Anonymous No.585665]

>>585660
There are actual sales skills that even autists can apply that work on increasing customer impulse and making shit look like diamonds

imo OP the best technique out there is impulse wave. You say something negative (usually about alternatives), then something positive (usually about your product) and alternate like that. They're kept on a constant loop without thinking about disadvantages or cost, while constantly and increasingly making the product look better. You can't be too formulaic about it though because it will be obvious and unnatural. Also remember to apply the usual stuff like urgency