What are sales skills training and techniques as they apply in the modern sales process? Like everything else about business, sales methods change on a regular basis. The way that we sell and reach customers will naturally reflect changes in our methods of communication and our technologies. The history of sales over the last several decades has changed dramatically, but the most dramatic changes have come since the advent of the internet and web-based advertising. Plus, the trend towards globalization means that we have to consider ways of communicating with others who may have very different needs than the customers we have worked with before. Customers have changed as well. Today, we as customers expect immediate, convenient, individualized service. If one organization doesn’t provide it, chances are we have another choice to turn to. So, understanding customers is vital to overcoming the competition and learning what it will take to help your customer choose your product or service rather than the competition’s. The important thing to note is that with sales skills training and techniques you can be learn and developed a whole range of selling ability. These general skills include: Listening Skills. An effective salesperson must be able to listen to what a potential customer or customer is saying to them – as well as what is not being said. They must be willing to take the time to understand what the customer truly needs and identify the problem the customer is trying to solve. Effective Communication Skills. Alongside listening, you must be able to respond well. You must be able to offer solutions to the customer’s problems if the customer is ever going to buy from you or your company. Problem Solving Skills. Great salespeople are always working to solve problems – they understand that problem solving is what their real job is. Interpersonal Skills. This goes beyond communication skills; salespeople should know how to work well with their customers and with each other in order to be most effective. They should be courteous, respectful, and skilled at building relationships. Organization Skills. Successful salespeople are well-organized. This doesn’t necessarily mean their desk is well organized, but it does mean that they have a system for maintaining information about prospects, customers, products, and any other information their customer might need. Self-Motivation Skills. For long term career ambitions, you have to be able to motivate yourself. There will be those times that you don’t want to take the next step in the sales process, but you’ll need to know how to work through those feelings and take the steps that your customers need – and that will help you be successful in your job. Negotiation Skills. Customers almost always have a choice in the company they work with or choose to buy from. Negotiating is the art of helping the customer to choose your offer over others. Customer Service Skills – once you know how to make a sale, do you know how to keep that customer coming back? Do you view them as a one-time sale or as someone who could be a continual source of sales over the life of a relationship with them? Personal Integrity. In any relationship, including a salesperson-customer relationship, integrity is vital. Without it, you will lose the customer’s trust, their business, and possibly the business of others that the customer will talk about your company – and you. Sales Skills Training  and Techniques – Listening Skills As we’ve learned, a successful sales relationship today involves the seller being able to help the buyer identify his or his organization’s true needs. The seller helps this process by being able to listen to and understand what the buyer is telling him. Studies have shown that most listeners retain less than 50% of what they hear. Good listeners are rare these days. Studies have shown that most listeners retain less than 50% of what they hear. Imagine what that means when it comes to a conversation that you might have with your boss, a colleague, or a customer. If you speak for ten minutes, chances are that you have only heard about half of that conversation – and so have they. No wonder miscommunications happen so frequently! In order to be a good listener, you should practice active listening skills. In sales skills training and techniques there are five key aspects of becoming an active listener. You are probably already employing some of them but may need to practice others. However, once you are using these tools over time, you will find that they get easier and easier. Plus, you’ll learn so much about your customers and have such better conversations that you will be positively reinforced each time you practice. Effective Communication Skills Effective Communication Skills – in addition to listening, you must be able to respond well, whether in person, over the phone, or in writing. You must be able to offer solutions to the customer’s problems if the customer is ever going to buy from you or your company. Imagine you are on one side of a wall and the person you want to communicate with is on the other side of the wall. But there’s more than the wall in the way. The wall is surrounded by barriers. These barriers could be things like different cultures, different expectations, different experiences, different perspectives, or different communication styles, to name just a few. You might experience only one of these barriers at a time, or you might find yourself facing them all. Getting your message to the other person requires that you recognize these barriers exist between you, and that you then apply the proper tools, or communication skills, to remove those barriers preventing your message from getting through. Of course, communication is a two-way street. The person on the other side of those barriers will also try to send messages back to you. Your ability to understand them clearly could be left to a dependence on their ability to use communication skills.Sales Skills Training and Techniques