by Shawn Grundy

Created on: September 17, 2008

Sales techniques vary widely based on the product or service that you are selling and the buyer or buyers who you are selling to. Any technique, regardless of how good you may think that it is, is only as good as the process in which it is placed. What I mean by this is that if you do not have complete, thorough sales process, which would consist of several different steps and various techniques, then no single technique will ever lead you to success.

This means, then that a successful sale, regardless of product, service or industry requires a series of techniques and not just one or two. It's very important to understand this because so many times have I seen sales lost because the salesperson did not follow the process. NOW LET ME SAY THAT THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT IF AND WHEN YOUR CUSTOMER DECIDES TO PURCHASE BEFORE YOU FINISH YOUR SALES PROCESS THAT YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE UNTIL THE PROCESS IS COMPLETED! WHEN THEY ARE READY TO BUY, YOU IMMEDIATELY MOVE TO THE AGREEMENTS AND FINALIZE.

I wanted to stress that point because I have seen people take this advice the wrong way. There is one cardinal rule in sales that is in effect no matter what the situation, and that is do not talk past the close. Once a customer has committed to buy, your job is to now accommodate them. Talking further can only mean the possibility of bringing up information that could confuse them enough to retract their decision to buy so that they can "think about it" some more. Don't do it. It's career suicide.

Back to technique. Technique is largely customized depending on the type of salesperson you are and the type of buyer(s) you are working with. For instance, if you typically have more of an aggressive, emotional personality then your initial instinct is to deliver an aggressive, emotional presentation. Makes sense, right. That's all well and good so long as you are dealing with an emotional buyer, or one that you can successfully excite and motivate through high energy and high emotion. This is not so good, however, if you are dealing with a buyer who has a very logical, reserved and conservative buyer(s). You have to be able to "mirror" your clients before you can be effective in selling. To do this, you first understand what people of various personality types respond to, and then tailor your presentation to that.

These are the exact reasons that if I were to name a single technique that, if mastered, would provide you with the biggest advantage and best chance to move the sale forward it would be the investigation or discovery phase. This part of the process is intended to do exactly what the title suggests, investigate and discover. This is your opportunity to learn about the buyer, their need for your product or service, and most of all what is important to them when during the buying process. Everyone buys for different reasons and this is your opportunity to find out what your buyer's reasons are. If executed correctly and if the rapport is there then the potential buyer could virtually tell you exactly what you need to do in order for them to buy.

In short, the techniques alone do not make sales. The salesperson's ability to evaluate the buyer's personality and deliver the techniques in a way that connects with them is what ultimately will lend the most influence on your success and/or failure in the world of sales.

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