4 Back to Basic Sales Tips

By: Tim Brown

Many of us would find the title of salesperson unappealing. Its connotation may be associated with pushiness, ruthlessness or other unsavory words. Though it doesn’t have to be that way, especially when being a salesperson encompasses much more than just sales.

Daniel Pink, author of three novels including To Sell is Human, argues that regardless of your vocation, everyone is in [some form of] sales. Whether you view yourself as salespeople or not, chances are you’re trying to sell something to someone on a daily basis; be it our product, our thought, or even ourselves!

Given our tendencies to sell without being fully aware of it, we might be better off embracing the idea of being a salesperson and learn tips that could improve our results.

Here are four useful sales tips that will help you in your endeavor to persuade others.

1. Pinpoint a moment of interest

In a salesperson’s world, it has always been true that when you sell something, the timing of the pitch has to be taken into consideration.

As kids, when asking parents for something, catching mom or dad in a good mood was an important detail. The concept isn’t much different as adults, though it is certainly more complicated in today’s digitally disrupted world. People experience a bombardment of brand advertising messages. It’s important to align the timing of your outreach with those fleeting moments-of-interest they have for your product.

For example, if someone visits your website and completes a contact form, it is imperative that you contact them almost immediately.

According to Mark Galloway, CEO of OppSource, a sales development software, a connection with a human being is incomparable to an automated message response.

2. Don’t give up too quickly

People are very hard to reach, given their busy schedules and packed personal lives. Since that is generally the case, you need to be persistent.

If you are frustrated by the lack of response from those you are trying to persuade after a single attempt, you are probably getting worked up way too early. It takes today’s professional eight attempts to get in touch with a prospect.

If salespeople gave up after their first attempt, they wouldn’t be selling much. Take into consideration that it takes most six attempts for a sale conversation. Use the lack of response as an opportunity to work on your patience and stay with in pursuit a bit longer.

 
3. One mouth, two ears

If you are serious about selling something to someone or persuading them to take action, remember that you have one mouth and two ears. The art of persuasion starts by making the conversation all about the person you aim to convince.

No one likes to be part of a lopsided conversation, especially if there is no existing relationship. The amount of time you should be talking versus listening should be proportionate to your mouth and ears.

We all appreciate when others ask us about us. Let the person you are engaging do the majority of the speaking, and you will have mastered a critical element of persuasion with selling.

4. Always offer value

When you are selling something, you need to consider what value you can bring to the conversation.

It might be something as simple as having done your homework on their interests or knowing the big initiatives they are currently involved in. Offering up insights to them about those areas in which they are interested brings value to your conversation.

So as you think about and prepare for your next opportunity to persuade or sell someone something, remember these four important and often overlooked selling tips. Using them will significantly improve your odds reaching your intended outcome.