Think you don’t have any sales skills? Think you don’t need them? You do! Kathryn deconstructs the most important sales skills and shows you how to develop your ability to get buy-in. What can you do to develop your sales skills this week? – InPower Editors
There’s a saleswoman inside all of us ready to get out.
When I speak to groups of women about how to find work at every age and stage, I first tell them all that they are not unemployed. Many who are returning to the workforce after many years or deep into a job search that seems to have no end then appear both curious and confused. Until I explain that they each have a full-time sales job…focused on selling their skills and experience and their fit for specific jobs.
For English majors, women who feel more comfort among introverts or those who think that to sell is to push or boast, the idea of developing sales skills seems as plausible as flying to Mars. But sales skills propel women forward in all aspects of life and work whether or not they have paid jobs.
If you’re trying to land a job or keep a job moving on an upward trajectory, sales skills—in the form of negotiation—are key. There’s a great guide to building sales confidence in the Levo League’s “5 Negotiation Tips for Your Mind, Body and Soul”.
Simply getting buy-in for your point of view on a volunteer committee or a corporate team requires the ability to present your value proposition clearly and persuasively—which is the carefully honed skill of any seasoned sales pro.
And then there’s the direct selling that is in everyone’s job description—whether or not your title includes “marketing” or “sales”–when you try to get a client or prospect to buy a product, service or idea for an alternate plan.
Though sales skills are needed in just about any situation, they come naturally for some and learned by others. But even the pros need to keep their eyes on the ball and continually cultivate the key strengths of their trade:
The Ability to Listen: The seasoned sales pro is all ears. They know you can’t make the sale unless you have fully heard and provided specific solutions to customer needs.
Tenacity: Great salespeople never give up. They develop the ability to push forward and try again and again despite any real or perceived obstacle.
Resourcefulness: A sales pro never resorts to word “can’t”. They have the ingenuity to always find a work-around, a new strategy or someone/something that will help to make the sale.
Optimism: There’s nary a true-blue sales leader who doesn’t have a positive outlook and firm belief that around every dubious corner there is the possibility for success—despite the number of rejections endured.
A Sense of Urgency: In sales of every kind, if you snooze, you lose. The best salespeople move quickly and never assume that anything worth having will land on their laps.
A Personable Nature: Many of the best salespeople have big, outgoing personalities—but those who are more reserved can be true to their own personas and equally likable and engaging relationship-builders.
Confidence: In any situation nothing sells better than confidence. You have to believe in your ideas, solutions, skills, products and services—and convince others that you have the ability to bring them to a better business or personal place. Whether you’re in a conference room pitching clients, at a PTA meeting rallying parents or in your kitchen guiding kids, your ability to sell keeps you in the winner’s circle in every life and work game.
Originally on: 9 Lives For Women
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