Any good salesperson knows that winning a sale is not a one hit wonder. There are rounds of conversations, relationship building and negotiation along the way. Sometimes, it can seem almost impossible, if not exhausting, to get the desired end result. Sherrie Campbell seems to understand the challenge of securing that next sale, and recently wrote a great article for Entrepreneur.com titled, “7 Psychological Strategies For Mastering Sales Negotiations.” While we agree with and support all seven strategies, we want to focus on two today – Campbell’s third and sixth strategies.
Campbell’s third strategy is to take full advantage of listening. One of Dale Carnegie’s main principles is to be a good listener; to encourage others to talk about themselves. Not only does this give your customer a feeling of being heard, it allows you to understand exactly what your customer wants and needs. By doing this, your customer feels heard, understood and appreciated, and you are able to offer the best options based on their needs. Too many salespeople try to talk themselves into a sales win, when all it would have taken is more listening. The strongest relationships come from genuinely listening and taking an interest in the other person. The key to listening is to be focused, engaged and sincere – anything less than genuine and authentic will guarantee a loss of the relationship – and the sale.
Next, Campbell’s sixth strategy is to put people first, numbers second. If there’s one main focus we have here at Dale Carnegie Training, it’s the value of people and relationships. Sales is about offering and giving what the consumer wants or needs in a way that is mutually beneficial. So it only makes sense that one of the best ways to secure the sale is not to focus on the numbers, but rather on the person and their wants, needs and emotional connection.
At the end of the day, Campbell’s article focuses on what Dale Carnegie Training stands for: becoming a better person day-by-day in order to enhance relationships and make the world a little bit better. Want to win the sales battle (and war)? Become more interested in the other person and what they desire. Doing this will strengthen your relationships, facilitate better communication, and create more enjoyable negotiations for everyone involved.
To read more about Sherrie Campbell’s 7 strategies, visit her article here: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239382
This post is brought to you by the good folks at Dale Carnegie Training of Michigan, providers of professional development and management development courses and information in Michigan. We would love to connect with you on Facebook and Twitter @micarnegie.
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