How do you get people to buy from you?
People who teach and coach on sales and marketing skills offer up lists of certain skills that are essential for success in selling. Reviewing some of those and the accompanying articles, we find some that overlap, some that stand out.
Although they’re usually couched in terms of communication skills, Shiera O’Brien focuses on interpersonal skills. “At the heart of selling are good interpersonal skills,” she said.
Having skills in dealing with and interacting with people, on the other hand, includes skills in communicating effectively with them. First, on her list of five interpersonal skills that win sales is understanding your prospect and being able to speak their “language.”
“This is the most obvious way to get people to buy from you,” O’Brien stated in an article posted on LinkedIn. The “doorway into their world,” added O’Brien, who teaches and coaches sales, is effective listening and questioning.
“Seek first to understand. Then you know what they want and can easily reflect that back through questioning, summarizing and co-creating a solution that works for your prospect.”
Developing rapport with people and building relationships is essential, she noted. As O’Brien explained, “It is only in rapport and good relationships that sales are made. People buy people, and they buy from people they like and trust. If clients feel and believe they have a relationship with you, it’s because of your rapport-building skills. At that point trust begins to build, and they will commit time and effort to you.”
The next two items on her list of five interpersonal skills are related: focusing 100% on your customer and their outcome, and being attentive and responsive. Having met hundreds of sales professionals, O’Brien recognized that the ones who achieve the most are those who are focused completely on their client. They always sell more. The client realizes their complete focus “through the quality of questions, the conversation and the service that is finally delivered to them. All the way, the client should feel this in every interaction, as you demonstrate how you understand their world.”
That focus and dedication plays out in your attentiveness and responsiveness. Your customer’s needs are paramount to you. You respond to their concerns and requests right away and take action accordingly. In fact, you “go out of your way to pre-empt and anticipate what would make their job of buying easier.”
O’Brien and other experts also touch on the importance of confidence. You need to be confident in your ability to deliver product, service or value to your customer.
Confidence is also referred to in an article titled, “The Essential 11 Sales Skills Every Salesperson Needs” on www.blogsalesflare.com. “Confident people inspire confidence in others – so if you’re confident about what you’re selling, prospects will feel that confidence and ‘buy into’ what you have to say.”
Writing for www.blog.hubspot.com about communications skills that are crucial for success in sales, Leslie Ye suggested the key is “the ability to gather and provide information in a way that makes your prospect want to do business with you.”
“Your value proposition, your pricing, even your product’s features — none of that matters unless you’re able to get your prospects to talk to you and also listen to what you have to say.” That’s why communication skills – effectively listening as well as conveying your messages – are so important.
