3 How do you ‘sell’?
Successful selling requires a combination of various interpersonal and professional skills, all of which can be developed. Roberts-Phelps (2001, p. 103) argues that these skills include the functions listed in Table 1.
Skill | Function |
---|---|
Connecting | To establish a personal bond with the customer. |
Encouraging | To keep the customer participating in the sales call. |
Questioning | To get in-depth information on the situation, problems and needs. |
Listening | To hear and remember the facts and feelings shared by the customers. |
Confirming | To make the progress of the sales call explicit. |
Providing | To give information to create a clear, positive image of the salesperson, company, products, and services. |
Successful selling requires that you develop and draw upon each of these skills at various points throughout the sales process – from prospecting and initial contact through to final delivery and ongoing support. The judicious use of questioning techniques (most particularly open and closed questions) is key, as is active listening, which is discussed in the Communications unit.
2 Who are you selling to?