by Wendy Connick

Created on: October 02, 2010

-Know your product

Trying to sell a product that you don't fully understand is a huge disadvantage. First, it put you in an awkward position if a prospect asks questions you can't answer. Second, you can't bring up the best selling points of your product if you don't know what they are! And third, if you don't fully understand the product you may end up trying to sell it to the wrong people, which is really a recipe for frustration.

As soon as possible, get ahold of all available information on your product(s) and study them. If possible, try using the product(s) yourself. Make a list of any questions you have about your product(s) and run them by your supervisor. This helps you to understand the product AND shows your initiative.

-Understand features vs. benefits

The old sales mantra “features tell, benefits sell” is just as applicable today. Features are what a product does; for example, if you are selling a car, one feature might be that it accelerates to 60 MPH in 2.5 seconds. Benefits, on the other hand, are how the features help the customer. Looking at the previous example, one benefit of a car that accelerates quickly is that it can safely merge onto the freeway.

A few sample “benefit” phrases are: safe/secure, prestigious, save money, save time, easy to use, and enjoyable.

-Identify the decision maker

Pitching your product to someone who doesn't have the authority to buy it is a waste of your time and theirs. Nearly every decision maker is guarded by a “gatekeeper” whose responsibility is to keep you from bothering the boss! You will need to convince this person that their decision maker will benefit from speaking to you, which certainly does require salesmanship. The difference is that you need to sell the decision maker on the product, but you need to sell the gatekeeper on YOU.

-Observe the top salespeople

Every company has one or more star salespeople. You can learn from these success stories! If possible, get a meeting with one or two of these company stars. Take them out to lunch and pick their brains for ideas. If possible, ask to come along on one of their sales calls or listen in on a phone pitch. Most people will be flattered by your attention and will be happy to help.

-Project confidence

If you don't believe in yourself or your product(s), how can you convince a total stranger to believe in them? Make a list of your best qualities, your company's best qualities and the product(s) best qualities and

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