Selling
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In the most literal sense, selling is the ability to persuade or convince someone of the merits of a product, an idea, a proposition or goal. In organizations, selling skills of a person are referred to as the ability of closing a deal i.e. handing over something of value in exchange for money.
Selling basically involves determining the needs and wants of potential clients and then influencing their purchase decisions in order to enhance business opportunities. Not only is it fundamental to every organization that comes to your mind but also a very useful skill in your daily routine.
Why is selling important
What happens to a business that has no sales? For instance, what would happen to a restaurant where nobody likes to eat? It is likely to be shut down. Sales are certainly what drive anyone in or out of business. That alone speaks volume about the importance of selling skills. There are other determining factors as well:
- Increased influence over other people. With improved selling skills you are likely to improve your probability of successfully motivating, encouraging, and training other people as well. You will have the power of influencing others no matter what you do in life.
- Ubiquity of selling skills. One of the reasons that selling skills are required everywhere is that they are found everywhere. You will rarely find someone in an organization that never has the opportunity to sell something for the company. This is the skill that ultimately helps them be successful. Those that lack this ability are usually seen to be left behind.
- More educated and informed customers. As customers around the world are becoming much more informed and educated than they used to be, their tolerance for inauthenticity, dishonesty, and incompetency has dropped to a great extent. This can partly be attributes to the growing number of substitutes that are available to them. Therefore, there is a dire need to hone our selling skills.
How to improve selling skills
The first and foremost thing to remember about selling is that you should always be customer-oriented instead of sales-oriented. Following are some of the tips that may help you improve your selling skills:
- Boost up your confidence levels. You must work to improve your confidence level because without self-affirmation you will not be able to win the hearts of your potential buyers. They wouldn’t want to trust your proclamations. One of the best ways to avoid such circumstances is learn more about your product and be passionate about it, which is bound to boost up your confidence level when you try to sell it.
- Think like your customers. Never be naïve enough to focus on the selling process. Instead, always begin by thoroughly understanding the customer buying process. You need to be able to get into the minds of your customers if you truly want to improve your selling skills. Figure out what their needs and wants are, where they currently are in the buying process, and what or who influences the ultimate buying decision. Only after gathering all this information will you be able to pitch your product or idea to your prospects effectively.
