If your ideas are getting pulled down or picked apart by bosses and clients, it’s not necessarily because your ideas are bad – it could be that you’re not effectively selling them. Here are a few ways to be a better salesperson for yourself and your ideas.
1. Don’t Irritate Your Clients
Everyone has a sales process and schedule about when to contact clients, what to say, and which commitments you want to get from them. But, sometimes, leaving them alone is the most effective action.
Once a prospect has enough information about your solutions, you believe you’ve addressed their needs and put the ball in their court, taking a step back shows you respect their time. If they truly want to work with you, they’ll contact you. Plus, you can spend your time focusing on other clients and generating more leads.
Moreover, you ought to meet decision-makers where they are, so as to avoid inconveniencing anyone – people are much more inclined to say “yes” when they’re in a comfortable position. If this isn’t enough info about decision makers and their psyches, you ought to do a bit of research and find a recruitment company’s website, and then stop by for more info on decision makers and their temperaments.
2. Be Honest
People will not buy from you unless they trust you. One of the easiest ways to gain someone’s trust is to be completely honest with them. This is not always an easy thing to do when you are trying to get new business—to tell them they should shop around and be honest about the benefits and potential drawbacks of your solutions. At the end of the day, if you are honest and you show you are concerned about your client’s best interests, they’ll buy from you.
Strive for focused but relaxed delivery with your next presentation. Learn it. Practice it. Internalize it. Then exhale and present in a natural, conversational style. Honesty and true belief in your pitch will help this go quite smoothly.
3. Explain Why Your Solution Works and Why It Doesn’t
While it’s easy to boast about how your product/service can benefit a client, it’s more difficult for you to talk about why it may not be a great solution. But, if you are genuinely concerned about helping your client find the best solution, you need to talk about the good and the bad.
This works when you also offer an alternative solution. Explain how your solution may not work, but also offer up a potential solution to help your clients meet their goals. Again, this type of approach will help you build trust.
Prepare for objections by completing a Punch/Counterpunch worksheet. Draw a vertical line down the center of the sheet to create two columns. Label the left column “Punch” and the right column “Counterpunch.”Will you get hit with every anticipated objection? Unlikely. But you’ll be ready for whatever haymaker comes your way. And just knowing you’re prepared will help you deliver a stronger, more confident presentation.
our training process as early as possible. It’s a low-risk, low-impact process that allows for discussion and growth. Baking little failures into training forces salespeople to think ahead and think for themselves. Our goal is to equip our salespeople to stand on their own two feet — letting them experience a couple of skinned knees at the start will build their strength. With these tips in mind, you’ll be the best, albeit most unconventional, salesperson around.
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