Top 10 Sales Skills You Must Master

Sales is a fierce industry and is facing some radical changes. It takes those armed with the most important sales skills to stay ahead of the competition. Its core strategy relies on the strengths of your salespeople in collaborating with clients to drive the desired result. And mastering sales skills is essential to succeed in any domain of your life – whether you are interacting in a professional setting, or convincing your family to go watch the latest movie, it is all a matter of how skilful you are at selling your perspective. Our data analytics platform at DataInsght labs have picked up anomalies that are indicative of the top 10. But which skills matter the most to make you successful at sales?

Here is our pick of the Top 10

1.Good Listening

One of the most basic yet essential skills to be mastered is the skill to listen. When you listen carefully, you get a better understanding of what your customer desires. It offers you an insight into their expectations which can then help you craft your sales pitch to deliver something that exceeds their expectations.

2.Building a Connect

Build a connect with your buyer. This is where your communication skills come into play. Understand their speech pattern, body language, and pay attention to what they say to find common ground. Connect with them by mirroring their speech pattern and adjusting your speech pace to match your buyer’s. Look for similarities as simple as their hobbies or likes and dislikes to engage in conversation. Similarities connect people. Find something that you can talk about to positively engage your buyer and build long-term relationships and mutually beneficial networks.

3.Story Telling

Selling becomes much easier if you can tell your customer a story. Find how your product or service will be a part of a solution to the problems they face and convey it in the form of a story that can resonate with your target audience. Be clear, concise, authentic and engaging in your storytelling. It will help in building a certain level of likeliness towards your brand/product in the mind of your customer and let you stand out from the competition. Authentic storytelling can have the power to appeal to a customer’s emotions and encourage action favourable for you.

4.Research Your Customer

Understanding what the customer needs is a must for every salesperson. If you understand what they want, the chances of you converting the pitch into a confirmed sale are higher. Understand your buyer and engage in buyer-responsive selling. Ask intelligent questions, identify buyer needs and craft a follow-up strategy accordingly. Researching will help you better identify potential sales targets.

5.Product Knowledge

Being successful at sales requires the salesperson to know as much as possible about the product/service they are selling. Study the product extensively, understand how it works, what value it offers the customers, and why it appeals to your target audience. Thorough knowledge of the product will prepare you to highlight the right product features and arm you for any question, objection or speculation a prospective client might have. This level of knowledge and expertise is what you need to be among the top 1% of sales reps.

6.Objection Handling

Sales objections are an undeniable part of a sales rep’s workday. The right approach can enable sellers to ask buyers more relevant questions. However, a poor approach can lead to derailing an otherwise good conversation. Prepare on how to respond to major types of objections, like scepticism or indifference. Practice responding to common objections with your colleagues or through videos to elegantly handle your buyer’s objections.

7.Demo Skills

Practice sales presentations and demos before going out in the field to interact with your customer. Ensure that your presentation focuses on the buyer’s needs and challenges instead of being too feature-centric. Keep your delivery crisp and engaging to hold the buyer’s attention for longer. Be confident in your ability to use your product and share any specifics possible from your own experience. Don’t hesitate to customize your presentations to fit the customer’s needs.

8.Time Management

Research shows that sales reps spend nearly 65% of their time on non-revenue generating activities, leaving them only 35% for sales related functions. Being efficient with time is key to being successful in sales. Have a clear sense of the specific steps needed to close a deal and the time taken by each. Be flexible to shuffle your daily routine as priorities change. Using AI-driven sales forecasting can further help eliminate time spent on reporting and leave you with more time to build client relationships.

9.Closing Skills

Strengthen and refine your closing techniques constantly. Identify the right time to ask for a financial commitment by identifying patterns in data and suggesting ideal moments to take the subsequent action. Once you are confident in your standing with your client, proceed to the next step of getting your order signed at the earliest. Establish a timeline with the prospect and give them a compelling reason to commit.

10. Post-Sale Relationship Management

Once you have completed a sale, focus on the next important step of building and maintaining client relationships. Closing a sale doesn’t necessarily end the customer journey. Depending upon your product/service, you can offer and generate additional revenue opportunities with your clients. Ensure a smooth handover to the customer success team after closing the sale. If possible, continue to stay in touch with the customer about upcoming events, relevant industry news etc. Always remember that word of mouth can be the most powerful influencer. Excellent customer service and enable your clients to endorse you to other prospects and help you expand your client base.