Good seller, bad seller. How do you know if you're good at selling? When sellers are too intrusive: buyer behavior, advice to sellers The ability to ask the right questions

Good day!

In fact, the answer to this question is not so difficult. Let's take a look at this today...

Sales or sales volume in numerical terms is the result of the work of any seller. And then the question becomes: “Why does the seller NOT give a result???”

Well, firstly, because no one sets parameters for it this result. You can consider a simple example and take an ordinary worker, to whom his supervisor gives the task to dig a hole, but does not set parameters - depth, width and length. The worker digs a round hole 10 cm in diameter and 10 cm deep and reports to the boss that the result is ready. But this is NOT the result the boss wanted. The same thing happens with the seller. If the manager DOES NOT set sales parameters for him daily, weekly, monthly - the number of contacts with the client, the number of purchases, the average check, then the seller brings 10 rubles to the company.

Secondly, no one gives the seller the tools to work. Well, how! The worker has tools - a shovel and a crowbar. The seller doesn't! If there are no tools, then the worker digs a hole with his hands with a diameter of 10 cm. Exactly the same thing happens with the seller when he brings 10 rubles to the company, only his tools are not a crowbar and a shovel, but checklists and scripts, and additionally his goal, his product, client portrait, unique selling proposition, daily reports and statistics… In general, the seller is not provided with tools - don't expect good sales from him!

Thirdly, he is not trained to use these tools.. It seems that there are tools, but there is no result. He just doesn't know or doesn't understand how to use them. It's like giving a worker a compressor with a jackhammer one fine morning instead of scrap and saying: “Here! Work!". And do not show how to turn on the compressor, how to connect a jackhammer to it, how to use it. With the seller everything will be exactly the same. Just give him checklists and scripts "in the teeth" and say: "on - work" will NOT help!! He must be taught to understand, trained ... And then already ask him. And this is the most correct sequence, especially if you have a working technology, checklists and scripts.

Well, and fourthly, the seller simply does not want to work. He is not motivated or stimulated to work. Here you can simply say in the words of one of the greatest managers of the National Hockey League, Lou Lamorello: “As paradoxical as it sounds. To get the same result, one must be caressed, the other well kicked. That's all. You should also have tools to motivate and stimulate salespeople. And, not least, you must use them!

Let's summarize. For sellers to sell, you must:

  1. Set plans and goals. Daily. Weekly. Monthly;
  2. Give the seller the technology to work with the client and all the tools;
  3. Teach technologies, give instructions on the use of tools and train;
  4. Have available tools to motivate and stimulate sellers;

And then you will definitely have sales.

In the article, I deliberately do not write about what the seller must do himself. This blog is not for sellers. It is for OWNERS and MANAGERS. And it seems to me that it is the owner who bears all the responsibility for his business. And he is the first one who should set the parameters for the employees, give the tools, teach them how to use them and stimulate or motivate the employees for exploits. Remember? Before you get something, you must first invest something!

And now I suggest that you invest heavily in your business. After all, the crisis is just the right time! I invite you to my program where we will make your sellers SELL!

Andrey's business adventures

Andrey is a salesman "on the forehead". Broadcasts with perseverance
Andrey is a salesman "on the forehead". Broadcasts with perseverance

Why is the PR department the "creators" and the sales department the "salespeople"? The semantic load on the face is different. And all because the concept of "salesperson" is quite distorted: most people are embarrassed by this profession, they say that it is temporary or they are generally silent about the nature of their activity. At work, they experience stress and dissatisfaction, humiliation from “cold” calls and frequent messages on the other end of the wire or, even worse, live. But there are guys who are proud of what they do, without complexes say: "I'm selling Maserati" or "I'm selling production facilities." These are people who bring revenue, money to the cashier. And thanks to their abilities, they grow most quickly in the company, raising their income and status.

We will look at the signs of a good and bad seller. And, perhaps, you will understand that your business is to grow cultivated plants, and not to gather dust in the sales department, or, perhaps, that for complete happiness you just need to change companies.

Meet Andrey!

Yes, by the way, we have a hero, his name is Andrei. This is a young energetic entrepreneur of 27 years old, who is at the beginning of his journey. Through trial and error, he learns the basics of business. Andrei is a comic character, the fruit of real stories.

Like many young people, Andrei changed many professions before he took up his own business. And in his piggy bank, of course, there is experience as a seller. Today Andrei will illustrate the situations that sellers find themselves in and how this characterizes them. Let's start with the bad sellers!

Bad seller

1. Lots of words.

If you allow such a salesman to speak or let him into your office, you will get a performance without intermission. The technical properties of the product, the benefits of cooperation, the uniqueness of the offer, the history of the brand, the growth rates - he is ready to talk about it with gusto!

2. Belittling yourself. Top client.

Every person has a thing that he once bought out of pity. “The salesperson was so nice and courteous, he spent so much time with me that it was embarrassing to just leave.” “The sales girl had such eyes… Like a young lamb, I just couldn’t refuse.” Familiar situation? This is the type of ingratiating sellers - those who like to humiliate themselves in front of the client, to arouse pity.

3. Belittling the opponent. Client below.

Such a salesperson likes to dominate the conversation, putting pressure on the client's incompetence, usually in technical matters. Sarcastic, smirk on face. He considers this his strong point, a feature. Thinks the client is stupid.


Andrey, talking on the phone, condescends to a "weak level of development" of the client
Andrey, talking on the phone, condescends to a "weak level of development" of the client

4. Statement of the buyer before making a decision.

These are sellers who want a positive response here and now. They do not tolerate delay, they are indignant when faced with the indecision of the client. In the speech of such a seller, proverbs and sayings are used, for example: “The turkey also thought!” or “Who managed, he ate”, etc.

There are many more examples of misbehaving sellers. But on this we, perhaps, will end. If you recognize yourself in the miniatures described above, then you should know that this is not good!

Andrey's positive and decency extend to all spheres of life

In the previous article, we considered situations in which bad sellers fall. Today we will talk about what qualities you need to have and what to do to become a good seller. And, of course, Andrey will help us again in the illustration.

Good seller

1. Good person.
To be a good seller, you need to be a good person - decent and positive. No matter how trite it may sound. A good salesperson is a person who is pleasant to talk to, behaves appropriately, and smells good. Such a person likes people as a species, he is interested in communicating with them.

2. Expertise.
To sell something well, you need to be good at it. The mistake of many is that they sell standard solutions, blanks, templates, do not delve into the specific situation of the client. In order to become a great seller, you need to step out of the role of a seller, become an expert in the matter! Do not try to sell what is more expensive, but first find out what solves a specific problem of a specific person for a specific amount, and then sell it!

3. Attitude.
To understand how good you are as a seller, you need to determine your attitude to three things.

To the product: I love what I sell! I use this stuff myself. I can set up, reconfigure, follow all the updates, etc.!

To the company: I believe in my employer, I am inspired by the way of leadership, I share the principles and moods of the company - this is the case when they say “I work in a dream company”! But if your place of work makes you feel discouraged, indifferent or, even worse, ashamed, then you are definitely not in the right place and it's time to leave this employer.

To sales: what emotions does the sales process itself evoke in you, is it cool to sell?! What are you experiencing? Interest, joy, curiosity, excitement - yes! Fear, indifference, disappointment - it's not!

Andrew is in complete harmony with his activities

4. Techniques.
And, of course, what is a salesperson without a technician? Everyone uses them in one way or another. A good salesperson has a socially appropriate approach in the first place: he does not flaunt complex speeches and corporate tongue twisters that would be inappropriate in everyday life, he does not put pressure on the client, he does not scare him, and he is not afraid of himself. A good seller asks leading questions in order to understand what the client really needs, what exactly can solve his problem. The approach to each is individual. Building relationships is for the future, not for one-time communication.

So, to summarize: a salesperson is an exciting and promising profession, choosing which you can take off quickly up the career ladder and with maximum financial return! If you understand that you have all the data for excellent sales, then sell and improve! And also follow Andrey's business adventures - in the next article we will talk about the secrets and techniques of negotiating in sales.

The real problem with any sales force is the salesperson's obsession with the price of the product. The seller simply does not see any benefits other than price. You begin to communicate with such a specialist, you ask: what can be done to increase your sales? And in response they say to you - let's lower prices, competitors have cheaper prices, our price is not competitive. I actually saw salespeople who said at interviews that they had left their previous job because the product they were selling was too expensive. Often this problem spreads like a virus to managers. You come to any sales department, and there sit the commercial director, the head of the sales department, and with foam at the mouth they prove that the product is too expensive and with such a price, we will never. Let's see why sellers like to sell the price so much and how to work with it.

Why sellers love saving so much

So, let's take a closer look at your sellers, what's wrong with them, why do they choose only savings from all of them? To begin with, it is worth understanding that savings are not so important for a client, especially a Russian one. In order to understand this, you don’t need to go far, look around, look at people who buy a new phone every year on credit, look at those who sold their grandmother’s apartment and bought a new car, look at a student who puts all his money away, but buys famous brand shoes.

Why do customers behave so unreasonably, they are ready to shell out 60,000 rubles for a new phone, but refuse to buy your product, which costs 10 times less? In fact, everything is much simpler than your seller thinks - the client is willing to pay, only for obvious benefits. Talk to the owner of a credit iPhone, and he will give you at least ten benefits of buying such a phone, he will tell you about all the benefits in detail. Would a customer buy such a phone if he did not know all the benefits? No, of course not, remember vertu phones, they were very expensive, but they stopped buying them. Why? Yes, because vertu had no advantages other than prestige. And the iPhone was beautifully presented by the CEO of the company, who proved to the whole world on the air that they had created the best device. That is, everything is simple - if you want to sell a product at a high price, prove to the client its benefits.

But here many will say, well, it’s the sellers who must prove to the client the benefits of the goods, and the seller sees only the price. It turns out a vicious circle that can be broken in only one way - teach sellers to sell non-price advantages of the product. In fact, the seller sells the price because he, like the client, does not know other significant characteristics of the product, and even if he knows, he does not know how to present them to the client in terms of benefits.

Projecting your needs onto the client

This problem is very common among salespeople and managers. The fact is that if the seller has a pronounced need, he begins to sell it to all customers, not noticing others and not in general. This syndrome can be quite difficult to overcome, since the seller simply does not believe in what he himself does not understand. It is especially difficult to overcome this problem if the seller has been working for a long time.

What to do?

So, we have identified two main reasons why sellers sell the price of the goods, and do not notice other benefits at all.

  1. Low level of product knowledge
  2. Not understanding the needs of the client and not wanting to delve into them

So . To do this, it is necessary to teach sellers all the competitive advantages of the product. If such advantages are not formed, then it is very important to find them, if you need to invent them. This is the strategic task of marketing - to distinguish your product among others.

Bearded, but relevant anecdote:
They took a new seller to the supermarket with a trial period. The next day, the boss went to look at the newcomer, and he was just talking to the buyer:

- .... So, take a fishing rod?
- I'm taking it.
- And what, you go alone, it's boring. Take already three - for friends.
- Good.
- And do not get bored on the shore? Take a rubber boat - you will catch more fish.
- Good.
- And catch fish, you will want the ears right away. Take a pot, dishes.
- I'm taking it.
- You won't eat your fish soup just like that - a box of vodka to boot.
- I'm taking it.
- And snacks.
- Good.
- You won't want to go home after this dinner. Take a tent, sleeping bags.
- Good.
- Really all this on a hump drag? Take a car, there is a great option ...
- I'm taking it.
- There all will not be located, in the same place friends. Get a trailer!
- Good.

The buyer finally left, and the boss praises the newcomer:
- Well done! A man came for a fishing rod, and you sold him so much!
- Actually, he came for pads for his wife. And I told him, "And what are you going to do at home in these difficult days? Better go fishing!"

Seller Level - God =)

Of course, this is just an anecdote, but it very clearly captures the essence of the work of a truly professional salesperson. And, of course, between the offer of the seller and the consent of the buyer “I take ... well”, in real life there would be a longer dialogue than just “offer - agreement”

But there are such sellers, and we sometimes meet with them ... and we get real pleasure from the fact that they sold something to us, and if we ourselves are related to sales, then we envy with terrible envy, because “for some reason” we have such unable to sell.

How to become such a super seller? How and where to master the secrets of successful sales? What are the best methods and techniques to use? What is the right way, at what moment and what exactly to say to a potential buyer in order to make a sale?

But before looking for answers to these questions, you need to understand the most important thing: who is this real ideal seller? What do you need to be, what qualities to possess in order to meet this definition?

Every day we go to the store, for example, for groceries, while clearly knowing what exactly we are going to buy. Can the sales people who sell us all these goods be real salesmen? With a big stretch. After all, we were not sold anything, we bought everything ourselves.

To be that perfect sales person, the perfect sales agent, or the perfect sales manager, you must first have 7 important skills:

1. Intelligible speech

If you can convey your thought or idea to another person, then this is already half the battle. You don't have to have excellent public speaking skills to sell well, it's enough to speak clearly, clearly, and in a way that anyone who communicates with you can understand.

By the way, watch a wonderful parody of the Joker's interrogation scene - 3 minutes of pure positive)

There is a simple test - if you can not explain to a five-year-old child the benefits of using the product you are selling, then most likely you need to try to keep it simple. No matter how you look at it, selling is all about communicating information, so it makes sense to keep it as simple as possible. But not easy.

How to develop: Practice your speech and diction. The most elementary exercise before the start of the working day can be simple tongue twisters or chanting. When different notes are sung at different levels. Give these exercises 10 minutes before the start of the working day and your tongue will not be tangled, and it will be much more comfortable and easier to talk with clients.

2. Ability to listen to the interlocutor

In addition to good speaking skills, a good salesperson needs to know when to shut up and start listening. You know, sometimes it makes sense to assume, what if you really don't know what the client needs? There was a study, I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the numbers, but the order is as follows: 80% of sellers believe that they fully understand customers. 80% of customers believe that sellers do not understand and do not try to understand them. There is a tendency for sellers to overestimate their "understandable" ability. You can, of course, consider that you are not at all like that .. But then why are you reading this article at all?

So, in order to really hear the client, 2 conditions must match.

  1. The client must speak.
  2. You must be able to hear in his words HIS problems, HIS interests and HIS selection criteria. When a client speaks - be kind, try to really understand the meaning of his words! Remember that any words always have more than one meaning. And if you cannot find the meaning, then ask again, clarify - it also happens that the client himself does not know what he wants. And that doesn't mean he's an idiot. You are needed for this.

How to develop: Each time your interlocutor speaks, count to three and only then start talking. Perhaps the person wants to tell you something else, but you do not let him do it. And try not to interrupt. Moreover, do not try to handle objections before they actually arise. This annoys many.

3. Ability to ask the right questions

A good seller is an inquisitive seller! He will always be able to ask a potential client the right question that will promote the sale. And this question may be completely unrelated to the product. Sometimes, just asking about the mood of a person, you can achieve a better result than long persuasion.

How to develop: Start with the most basic questions. How did you get there? How is the weather outside? Are there many traffic jams, etc. These are common, socially acceptable questions that you can ask absolutely any stranger. The purpose of such questions is simply to start a human dialogue with the client. And the most correct approach will be sincerity. Ask him, for example, about the average gas mileage of his car, if you are really interested in this car. Show genuine interest.

4. Solving customer problems

Another important skill is problem solving. If you are a seller, then you do not have to solve the client's problems yourself, you need to know WHAT will help solve these difficulties. And then - to offer (sell) a good solution. But first you need to find the problem. Look for it by asking the right questions and listening to the client.

Sometimes it happens that your product really does not suit the client. If your goal is to maximize profit per customer over their life cycle, it is sometimes beneficial to even recommend one of your competitors who has what the customer really needs. It sounds like nonsense, but it's better than selling something that the client does not need and losing him forever. Such a risk is justified, especially since in real life in 90% of cases it will not even be your direct competitor, but a company offering goods or services that you simply do not have.

How to develop: It is best to recommend your related partners in such a situation. Let's say your organization sells auto parts. You can recommend to your customers a service station for the installation of these same spare parts and give some kind of discount coupon. This service station will in turn recommend you. Thus, together you get targeted customers at no extra cost.

5. Organization

It's great if you can motivate yourself to work. This helps to avoid a huge number of kicks from the authorities. But getting started is half the battle. The remaining half is the ability to bring the started business to a victorious finale. In order to bring sales to the paid invoice and the shipped goods, it is often necessary to show miracles of self-organization. If you have it "in the blood" - good. If not, then develop.



How to develop: Lots of options. Starting with time management trainings, ending with the installation of a complex CRM system, which itself reminds you of what every salesperson needs to do. The easiest option is to start a work diary, and write down only work questions there. An important point. Set a hard deadline for each of your cases and penalize yourself for not meeting this deadline by a certain amount, say 500 rubles. “For example, call the client before 16.00 and agree on making an advance payment.” If you are one minute late - put 500 rubles in a box. When there is a sufficient amount in the box - bring it to us, to the information business - we will teach you how to organize yourself)))

6. Good manners and upbringing

Good sales people are well educated. You may not realize it, but good manners are a show of respect for other people. People love to be respected, they begin to experience mutual respect in return. Your clients are no exception, they work the same way. Good manners are something that is instilled either in childhood, or at an already adult and conscious age, when it becomes clear that some doors for people with insufficiently good upbringing are simply closed.

A salesperson without principles will not be very honest with himself and with his customers. And cheating is not the best way to close a sale. Of course, once you can sell a product to one client by deceiving him. But it will end quickly. And the point is not even the very fact of dishonest play, but the fact that you can earn much more with a regular client than with a one-time dishonest deal.

How to develop: Be honest with yourself first of all. If you sell a product only when you start to “fake”, it means either you need to change jobs and sell a more worthy product, or you don’t know sales technology well enough. And even if you have already completed sales training and read a book just a year or two ago, but you are no longer developing, today you are again not a good enough seller. Recognizing this is what being honest with yourself is all about. The best seller will always be the one who does not stop in development, continues to learn and experiment. Constantly improve your level in salesmanship. Fortunately, you can do this today without even getting up from your chair.

Which of these 7 skills do you have?

Do you want to sell a lot, cool, easy, bold and with pleasure?

Register for a free webinar "7 closed methods to double sales" from the master of sales - Andrey Zhilin, where you will learn the shocking truth about how to earn your first million in sales. The webinar will take place on January 28 at 19:00 Moscow time. Register now and don't miss the opportunity to upgrade your sales skills to an incredible level.

How often do I hear sales professionals say that a real salesperson can sell anything. Do you think they are right? Do you need to love what you sell?

On the one hand, a person who owns various sales skills and techniques can really sell any product or service quite successfully, only for a short time. Burnout, inherent in any profession, will come in this situation much faster if a person is not in love with what he sells.

A loving and indifferent seller is very easy to distinguish with the naked eye. You don't need to be an expert in sales to do this, it's enough to be an ordinary person acting as a buyer.

Look at what happens: we need sellers like air, without them it is difficult for us to cope with a huge variety of goods and services, but you rarely meet a truly attentive seller who is able to offer exactly what you are looking for.

Why do people become salespeople?

You observe such an attitude because in most cases, people go to sell not from a good life. They are only because they need money. Do not take me at my word, but try to understand: at first glance, it is easy to learn how to work as a salesperson, no one requires special education, as before, moreover, they promise to teach everything, and even send them to trainings at their own expense. Since the era of perestroika, when everyone, young and old, turned out to be sellers, the ranks have cleared a little of people random for this field of activity, but there are still plenty of those who, by inertia, continue to do their unloved business.

Meanwhile, real salespeople will understand me, it’s quite difficult to work in sales for real. In fact, today the seller is an expert and highly qualified consultant in his field. To become such is not easy, but it is possible on one condition: you will do what you love and do what you like. Of course, this is an ideal picture, a kind of perfection, but, as you know, one must strive for perfection. So why not present the perfect picture starring the perfect salesperson?

What is the ideal salesperson?

Numerous studies continue to establish parameters and a set of qualities that a salesperson should possess. Among them, without fail, you will find faith in yourself and in your product. See the full list compiled by British researchers:

  • Communication Skills
  • Personality
  • Get ready for work
  • Intelligence
  • Motivation
  • Product Knowledge
  • Basic education
  • Self confidence
  • Appearance
  • Ability to quickly recuperate
  • business sense
  • Integrity as a person
  • ambition
  • Degree of acceptance by others
  • Empathy is the ability to feel like a customer
  • Initiative
  • self-discipline
  • experience
  • Ability to adapt
  • Persuasiveness in communication

Impressive portrait of the ideal seller? Draws on the portrait of a presidential candidate, did you also think so?

And although this is a portrait of a salesperson who lives outside of Russia, you will agree that many employers and sales managers would like to have an employee with at least half of this set of qualities.

Much to my surprise and regret, it should be noted that many of the listed qualities, Russian employers are ready to educate and grow in their employees in the process of work. But here's the problem: few employees want the same thing. There is even advice to the leader on this topic:

“We should not be afraid that managers will learn and quit, but that they will remain untrained.”

Many qualities can be nurtured and cultivated in a salesperson, but dedication and love for the product are developed through daily efforts from both the salesperson and management.

From practical experience

When I worked in an advertising agency, business owners - two twin brothers - came to their branch specifically to tell about themselves, about how their business was created from the knees, how it was transformed in the development process. They brought up in us not only love for the company's products, but also transferred their faith in their business to us. They were well aware that this confidence would be reflected in our eyes and would become an important factor in negotiations with the client. Thus, we dispelled all doubts that were companions of defeats, not achievements.

After such meetings, we again revised our "tired" attitude towards the company's products, our eyes lit up again, ideas shot out, and the overall picture of sales improved. They recalled their first attitude to what needed to be sold, and these were the services of a telephone inquiry service, and understood that there were no random people left here - it is precisely those who work here who like to sell these services and who are in love with their product.

We can still sell anything!

By the way, a little later, funny things began to happen - the company developed, and we began to gradually add new types of services: at first we learned how to sell printed editions of our publishing house, and a year later we had to learn the art of selling outdoor advertising. Sometimes I had to watch how managers were indignant, motivating their indignation by the fact that when they got a job, they came to sell what they like, but if it were a publishing house, they would never even read the job advertisement .

How do you like this turn? As a result, of course, we were taught everything, but I did not observe the spark with which the guys came, getting a job in the telephone help service, when they sold other types of services.

Again, I note and remind you that those managers who have to fight with the love of the product from their subordinates often find excellent motivating-compulsory arguments for selling all products, regardless of the degree of love for the seller. Well, for example, let's take Doshirak noodles - can you love it? Please excuse those who truly love her.

We know how unhealthy and harmful food is for our body, and it is possible to get poisoned by it only in extremely rare cases. Do you know how to bring up the love of a salesman in a grocery store? He is told that if no one needed Doshirak, then there would not be such multi-billion dollar sales of this product all over the world. If it's for sale, then it's for sale. Therefore, go and sell, despite your own attitude towards Doshirak.

Do you need to love what you sell. Conclusion.

Sad, right? Therefore, with time and experience comes the understanding that no matter what life circumstances are, you still need to do what you like, and you need to do what you love and interesting. At least in order to get up easily in the morning and run to work in a good mood, or perform those actions that give satisfaction from the results achieved.

The most important wish is to nurture and strengthen faith in yourself and your own strengths. It is this confidence that will allow you to learn to love what you sell and become a true professional in your field.

For those who have read to the end, a nice bonus is a great video about a simple client management program.

 

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