Advice for New Salespeople

Whether you’ve known you wanted to go into sales your whole life or you’re just now getting into it, we all have to learn somehow. If you look at a seasoned salesperson, they make it look so easy. It’s like they were just born with the natural ability to sell. Chances are, however, they were once just like you, researching how to become better at sales. Sales isn’t a magical talent you’re born with it’s something that with a lot of practice anyone can be good at.

Here are six quick tips for new salespeople to become all stars:

1. 1. Ask questions

   You will be around people who have been doing the job much longer than you have. While you might have learned all the new sales techniques, they’ve actually been doing the job. Ask questions often and learn from your peers. Many salespeople often regret not asking more questions. Make your life easier and don’t be afraid to ask when you don’t know or want to know more.

2. 2. Get a mentor

   A mentor can help speed up the learning curve. They’d act as your own personal resource. You would be able to shadow them to see them in action. A lot of people are hands on learners, and this is the perfect way to learn quickly. Listening in on phone conversations and in person pitches will give you a wealth of information to learn from. If your company doesn’t assign you a mentor don’t be afraid to ask for one.

3. 3. Understand the clients’ perspective

   Don’t get stuck in your own perspective. You will be talking to clients who are older than you that have different views and aspirations. If you fail to understand or even just respect the perspectives of other, you will battle to maintain relationships with some clients and struggle to close sales with many prospects.

4. 4. Do your research

   With understanding your clients’ perspective, you also want to understand their business. While you can’t become an expert overnight you can learn the key aspects. Being able to speak specifically to their business will not only impress your client it will also it will position you above others who can’t, giving you the advantage. Research helps you shape your pitch. Find a problem your client has and explain to them how you can solve it.

5. 5. Don’t be an order taker

   Get out in front of your customers – don’t sit back and wait for them to come to you. People like to see initiative, it shows that you value their business and want to help them succeed. Go out and find new clients on your own.

6. 6. Don’t oversell

   If you present someone with too much upfront, you can cause confusion. The client wants to know exactly what they’re getting. By pointing out too many features you can easily overwhelm them and cause them to be turned off. Keep it simple. It’s better to be great at a few things than okay at a lot of things. Point out the features that are specifically useful to them and leave out the ones that aren’t.

Remember to keep learning new sales techniques and implementing them into your work so you’re always improving.