Learning to sell: how to strengthen your qualities to become a successful salesperson

If we agree with the statement that “selling means communicating in such an effective manner as to influence the decision to buy” then the three keywords that must guide sales preparation are COMMUNICATE, INFLUENCE and DECIDE. These are three aspects that view training as a fundamental lever for strengthening personal qualities and developing the necessary skills to become a successful salesperson. KNOW HOW TO COMMUNICATE using para-verbal communication properly, dealing with silence, active listening, using the question technique, using paraphrasing, asking for feedback, keeping eye contact and above all smiling. KNOW HOW TO INFLUENCE transforming the product/service characteristics into advantages and calibrating these into benefits for that particular customer, for that particular business managing value arguments and overcoming objections, being able to distinguish between false purchasing barriers and true needs for clarification. KNOW HOW TO PERSUADE listening for weak signals, knowing how to read purchasing signals and asking questions that guide the negotiations towards a close, taking into account the difficulty the customer often has in making a decision which is also a financial commitment and therefore requires help. Of course we are dealing here with the area of techniques and so the training is aimed at developing sales skills through a course that envisages the classic classroom, eLearning and on the job training. It is essential to start by defining and sharing a Functional Plan that focuses on the key passages of successful commercial activity: Preparation, Programming, Approach, Cognitive survey, Selling the product/service, Overcoming objections, Closing. The training is then integrated on the job by shadowing and with online environments for reinforcing the concepts or for integrating them with other skills such as for example Communication, Problem Solving, Assertiveness. No longer just the classroom and traditional methods, but also new tools such as Mobile Learning, which makes it possible to reach all sales staff spread out across the territory and above all to cut down the time wasted between training and putting into practice. Giuseppe Fernicola