Sales Skills Training

Our popular Sales Skills training course will provide you with basic rules to put yourself in the right state of mind for you to embrace the prospect of direct selling, including cold calling.  By the end of the course you will

• Know what you need to do to prepare for a sale
• Understand the dynamics of cold calling
• Understand the dynamics of direct selling
• Learn techniques on how to deal with gatekeepers
• Learn effective ways to present your solution to the prospect
• Deploy effective ways of handling objections, particularly price objections
• Recognise when it is time to close a deal

Finding out the interests of a prospect, what makes them tick and what excites them both builds rapport and helps you identify who this person is and how you can improve their lives. Discovering the needs of your prospect on a practical and emotional level. Keep in mind that, in general, people buy for one of two reasons

1. The fear of failure or loss.
2. To be better off in some way.

Despite the advances of digital and inbound marketing,  cold calling is still a very effective way of reaching and connecting to potential customers.  Cold calling is picking up the phone to somebody you haven’t spoken to before, a daunting prospect for the uninitiated.

With good preparation and a positive mindset, you will learn to love cold calling and regard it as a lucrative way of gaining new clients, networking and getting referrals. Cold calling is not necessarily attempting to make an immediate sale but can often be much more effective when used as the initial or introductory stage in the sales process. The objective of a cold call could be to arrange a meeting, visit and event or exchange some information.

Being well prepared is a prerequisite to successful sales processes. Prior to any meeting with a prospect, having a process to follow keeps you focussed and the objectives of the meeting in on track. Some flexibility will be needed but the process will bring the conversation back to the objectives of the meeting when any deviations have been dealt with.

Some of this preparation work will vary from industry to industry. Some is applicable to everyone.  Despite our more relaxed work culture today, some formality is advisable and is interpreted by the prospect as respect and consideration for them. It also sets your meeting up in their mind as an event of the day

• Send a meeting invite and an agenda.
• Call the day before to confirm the meeting.
• Make sure you look smart. This will vary depending on the industry,
• have everything ready. This could include sales, literature, information, documents, testimonials, business cards, and computer equipment.
• Turn up on time. Ideally, aim to be around 10 minutes early.
• Make sure you know the USP of your product or service and
• have questions prepared to guide your prospect towards those USPS.
• Know how to say what makes you stand out, for example, your team location, product or service

You now know some of the pain points and obstacles faced by your prospect and you can see how your product or service can solve these problems. The close of the sale is the point that you present a solution to the prospect.

The selling section is where you explain the features, describe the benefits, and more importantly, sell the results. Only sell features and benefits that are relevant to the answers you received at the questioning stage.

Many sales are lost because salespeople fail to recognise signs the prospect is ready to buy. The sales process should stop and a recognition of the readiness to trade should begin.  Your will learn techniques on how to move the meeting forward at this point to a successful conclusion.

There are a lot of consideration when doing a group presentation. Whether you choose to use PowerPoint, a flip chart or just stand and talk – delivery is paramount. You must make the content interesting, informative and enjoyable. Any presentation should have a clear structure and not overload the audience with information. Remember, benefits not features.

The basic structure for a successful presentation is

Tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell it to them and tell them what you have told them.

Presenting to a group gives you the opportunity to cultivate a new skillset which this course will provide you with.  At the end of this popular sales skills training course you will know

• how to use the physical environment to engage with the group
• How to connect with your audience before you begin your presentation
• How to effectively introduce yourself
• How to identify influencers and decision makers in the group
• How to use body language to engage with your audience
• How to handle group questions and objections

If you’re getting objections, you know your prospect is, at least, partially, interested. Why would they ask questions if they weren’t considering a purchase?

An important thing to recognize is that you will get objections and a great deal of these objections will be on price. Whatever you sell, you need to know what those objections are likely to be and have your response prepared.

Don’t be too flexible on price. This is weak selling and can signal that you don’t believe in your product or service. If all you do to get business is continuously reduce the price, it becomes unsustainable. Of course, you must have some flexibility, but remember, your product has been set a price point for a reason.

Business research suggests that about 20% of purchase decisions are based on price but sales people get price objections 90% of the time. This course will give you the tools to recognise and discover what is behind a price objection. You will come adept and knowing how to deal with these objections and direct the meeting towards a successful close.

The best salespeople will look to close when the prospect is happy and satisfied and not before. Good closing is about helping the prospect make the right decision for them

*Video: Features vs Benefits