If you have no direct selling experience, you ought to acquire some. It is usually one of the toughest experiences anyone will go through but it brings great benefits. The fact is that in real life we are selling every single day. Asking your boss to approve a budget is a form of selling. Agreeing on bedtimes with your children is a form of selling. Wanting to change your seat when boarding an airplane is also a form of selling.
According to an article published on the INSEAD business school website, there are certain key rules for becoming skilled in sales.
Solve a real problem: In order to sell, you must solve a client's need, which may be real or imaginary.
Ask questions: Don’t go directly into pitch mode. First, you need to understand what the person in front of you needs. So start by asking questions.
Get them talking: Ask simple, yet powerful questions. Your goal is to keep people talking because if they speak, you will have a chance to understand their needs. Only then can you serve them. So stop trying to give advice at all costs or to tell your own story.
You want to serve, not sell: Think about how you can help your clients. Again, try to find out what they need. Sometimes, you need to find a way to them by solving a different problem first. This applies particularly to sales e-mails: focus on serving, not selling. Be there to help and provide something of value – be it advice or a useful link. Don’t just chase a sale, no matter what.
Offer a limited set of options: Too many options can lead to potential clients experiencing analysis paralysis. On the other hand, offering too few options – such as a simple yes/no decision – is not ideal either. It is generally good to provide clients with three options: high-end, mid-level and low-end. Most people will go for the middle one.
-jk-