There are as many different selling “styles” as there are home furnishings salespeople However it is also true that there are definitely some spccific traits that super sales people always exhibit that seem to be lacking in their co-workers. You may not be able to duplicate someone’s style, but you can certainly adopt a champion’s conceptual approach toward your work, that will enable you to sell like the “super stars”! Here are a few insights that can cause a positive shift in your thinking , and consequently improve your performance!
Develop a Strong Work Ethic
My neighbor is an auto mechanic that works 48 hours a week at his job. What does he do when he’s not working? You can hear him racing his engine and tinkering on his own car in the garage till well in the night. He loves what he does so much that it is not really work at all; it’s fun! All the great furniture salespeople you know work a lot of hours, much more than the average person.” When you love what you do you never have to work a day in your life! “ The better you become, the more you’ll like your work. The more you like it , the more effortless your job becomes! This means that when you strive to become better , your ” work ethic” will automatically improve too!
Learn A Little Bit More Each Day
Have you ever heard the word “ kaizen “ ? It is a Japanese term which suggests that you should try to make small improvements , each and every day. The road to success is paved with thousands of separate stepping stones , each having a particular place. You should strive to improve daily in several key areas. These would include your product knowledge, selling skills, customer service, and learning more about the competition, your company, and your customers. Super-achievers are fueled with the high- octane practice of trying to improve daily!
You Need This, ‘Trust Me”
Abraham Lincoln may have been the world’s best sales trainer. The reason I say this is because he gave us the most important advice any salesperson could possibly receive: He said that if you are trying to convince somebody of something, you must first make that person your “friend“! The purpose of making a sale is not to simply sell merchandise, but to” win a client’s heart as well”. Every great salesperson is viewed by those they sell as a trusted advisor, that always has their best interest at heart . That is the underlying secret of how to build an expanding customer base. If they “trust you “, clients will certainly turn to you first when they have future needs.
Time: Your Most Precious Commodity
The President of the United States, the world’s richest person, and you all have equal amounts of life’s most precious commodity. Each has just 1440 minutes a day to accomplish what must be done! Making the most of every single minute should become your cherished goal. Super sales people are always asking , “What is the very best use I can make of my time right now? This is one of the biggest advantages they have over everyone else. They know that time will be either your “friend “or your “enemy“, and only you can make it so!.
Make Sure You Always See The Big Picture
Highly trained sales people see a great deal more regarding the customer’s situation than most sales people. They find out everything about the room the furniture will be in, exactly about its intended use, and focus on the” total look“. They realize that their job is not to simply sell a commodity, such as a reclining chair, but to find the best solution to a specific need or a particular set of circumstances. Have you ever wondered why some furniture sales people make an income similar to that of a doctor? It is because their approach to solving a customer’s problem is much like that of the doctor/ patient relationship. When you become an “expert” at identifying and solving a client’s problems, you will then be in a position receive an” expert’s “pay!
The Most Important Person You Talk To Is You
Its pretty hard to think without using words, isn’t it? All day long a constant stream of thoughts runs through our minds. Some thoughts actually get spoken out loud, but most do not. This means that we are truly having a conversation with inner self throughout the day! What we are saying to ourselves about our capabilities and limitations, is actually what determines our true feeling about who we are, and exactly what we believe we can accomplish. The best furniture salesman I’ve ever met told me that the secret of his great success was a “positive mental attitude“. He provided the following amazing insight. “People that are winners are constantly justifying, by their thoughts, why they are going to do well, or “win”! . However, losers are always justifying why they can’t or didn’t succeed”.
The Second Half Of The Loaf Is The Most Important
Just how do you view your typical relationship with the customer? Do you specialize in intense, fleeting transactions, or build for the long run? The sale you make today will feed you today. However, that is just the” first half “of the loaf. Every wise sales person realizes that a customer’s future purchases will often be much larger than today’s, and strives to get the “second half” of the loaf tomorrow. In order to do this you must develop an ongoing relationship with your customer, which means identifying future needs, and staying in contact with them with useful information and friendly overtures .Some sales people are so effective at this stage of the selling process that they no longer have time to take “ walk- in “customers, due to such a large volume of repeat business and referrals!
Listen And Listen Well
It is the customer that provides you with the “appropriate close“. A sales champion realizes two very important things. First, the more you know about your customer‘s specific needs, wishes, terms, and time frames the more effective you can be in developing the proper close. Second, what is preventing you from getting the close in the first place, often has everything to do with what the customer is not telling you! Why is this the case? A customer is reluctant to offer vital information to someone who might use it to close them!. If this is the situation, you’ll need to do a little more probing, and listen intently to the answers .A common denominator of all great closers is that they are great listeners, especially for what’s not being said !
A Little Organization Goes A Long Way
If you are now a selling champion. it is a “given” that you are well organized. It became a necessity, so time ago, to develop an effective system of followup with your customers, and have a specific place for everything that’s important . Clutter will always add to confusion , and waste a great deal of your valuable time. You can’t afford either if you truly a “selling machine.”! Since we instinctively know this is true, it stands to reason that you certainly would be delaying your success simply by not becoming more organized. Afterall, how many confused and inefficient million dollar writers do you know ?
Failure Is Always An Important Part Of Success
Thomas Edison always considered every failure as a steppingstone to success. His explanation was that he actually discovered something else that wouldn’t work, which furthured him down the path, and brought him closer to something that would! Successful people are willing to try a lot of different things to improve. Failure is not what prevents success. However fear of failure does. People that move forward in life are not afraid to try something new. Conversely, those that are afraid to take a new step in the right direction are those that always remain stuck in the same old rut. If you wish to move up the selling ranks, you must go beyond your present “comfort zone“, and try something new that stands a good chance of improving your results. That is always the first step every sales champion takes!
Harold "Scott" Morris has been in the furniture industry as a salesman, sales manager, or store manager , for various large retailers , for over 35 years. He has also owned a piano store, and a delivery service, He has written columns for several network marketing magazines, and authored several books. The most recent one is entitled, "The Keys To Health, Happiness, And Success". Learn more at www.healthhappinessandsuccess.com