The ABC of Selling

 
You might think that this article is about the famous line: Always Be Closing!

It isn’t. It’s about something completely different and in my opinion will be much more valuable to you than those hard selling words of the past! So, keep on reading.

Years ago, I was working with a salesperson who considered himself to be one of the best in his business. You’d have thought that he had attended our Advanced Selling Skills Training Course he thought that he was that good!

If he ever failed, he said that it was the prospects that the company gave him that caused the problem, not him.

If profits from his accounts were down, it was the customer’s fault for wanting something for nothing. He would have no idea of how to use powerful sales statements or any B2B sales techniques to use.

It was never his problem.

I had the ‘privilege’ of going on two calls with him while I was consulting with his company. After the two calls, I realised why he failed more than he succeeded.

He thought he was good because of his product knowledge, his experience and his ‘gift of the gab’.

What he had was the ability to bore the pants of his prospects with his patter. It would go on and on and on, blinding the prospect with facts, information, and background.

He didn’t understand that the whole idea of quality salesmanship is to determine customer needs and then work with them to create a solution.

Basically, he was talking too much and not listening enough.

It reminds me of something I learned years ago when I was picking up sales tools and ideas.

I thought of it as the ABC of selling, as the three terms that have served me well start with those three letters.

Firstly, Accuracy.

In sales, you need to be correct and sure of your facts before you make any conclusions or offer solutions. Accuracy involves asking questions, summarising effectively, building confidence in the solution and being efficient in creating options. Being accurate in you assessments builds confidence in your prospect that the solutions you discuss will be appropriate for the challenges they face.

Then, there’s Brevity.

You’ve heard the expression, “Why use two words when ten will do!” Many salespeople live by this motto, as they think that the more they tell the prospect, the more they are building up value and knowledge in the prospect’s mind.

In most cases, less is more. Being brief is the sign of quality thinking. By putting your ideas and concepts in a brief format while still giving the amount of information the prospect requires to make a decision, you prove yourself to be effective and efficient.

Finally, there’s Clarity.

Clear communication is the by-word here, and when it’s coupled with accuracy and brevity, you encourage the customer to think through the options and they can make the decision they need to because they’re clear on what is required and can see the results.

So, by combining these three components, you create opportunities for both your prospect and you to be sure you’re making correct decisions and recognise when to move forward quickly and easily.

Please check out our Selling Skills Training or take a Sales Assessment for more tips and advice on how to improve. Also check out our generic Sales Training to help take your selling game onto the next level.

Take a look at our full portfolio of Sales Training Courses.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training