Selling is a “slight edge business.” By that, we mean that the line that separates high performers from mediocre performers is usually a very small difference.

There is very little you can control in selling. You can’t make prospects take your call.  You can’t make prospects agree to meet with you. You can’t make them move forward in your sales process and you certainly can’t make them buy from you. However, there is a multitude of things you are in control of and mastery of these 10 tips will give you greater confidence in sales.

How to Build Confidence in Sales

1. Identify and Create a Sales Process
2. Practice and Improve your Sales Pitch
3. Follow Up on Open Deals
4. Be a Great Listener
5. Embrace Rejection
6. Learn from a Mentor
7. Review your Strengths and Weaknesses
8. Identify what Motivates You
9. Be Able to Walk Away
10. Prioritize your Wellbeing

1. Identify and Create a Sales Process

First and foremost, you’ll need a repeatable sales process that you and your sales team can implement. Based in the #1 sales evaluation, “elite” salespeople utilize a consistent, stage-based selling system. Having a sales process keeps salespeople on track on the stages a buyer goes through on the path to a decision and will help to remove any inefficiencies from the sales cycle. Just by implementing a great sales process alone, salespeople can see better results in a short period of time. 

2. Practice and Improve your Sales Pitch

Much like your sales process, sales reps need to hone, craft, and practice their perfect sales pitch. You can start creating a better sales pitch by doing more research on your prospects, always put yourself in their shoes and ask through their lens “what’s in it for me?”. As a salesperson, you must invoke confidence. You can do this by practicing and perfecting your sales pitch. We call this your Unique Selling Approach and when you share it, your prospect should react with “That’s me” or “How do you do that?” Practice this so that your USA is natural and conversational to build your confidence in selling. 

3. Follow Up on Open Deals

A good sales rep follows up on open deals.  It’s great to get the word out, but as a salesperson, you will have more success following up on your existing prospects. It’s estimated that nearly half of salespeople never follow up on a prospect, and only 10% follow up three times or more. In fact, it’s estimated that 80% of all closed deals occur between the 5th and 12th outreach.

Following up also shows the prospect that you’re organized and considerate to reach out again.  Most people will appreciate your follow up, and just by reminding them of your previous conversation, you can be more top-of-mind amongst your prospects, and build credibility.

4. Be a Great Listener

Having an open dialogue is critical in nurturing your prospects and giving them a voice.  Make sure you’re really listening to what they’re saying as it can help you close more deals. By listening to better understand your prospects, you can better identify what your prospect wants, how they want it, and why. Listening to understand takes concentration and the ability to not get distracted by what you can offer as a solution. Only by understanding what your prospect wants and needs from you, will you build confidence in sales that will allow you to better align your sales pitch to meet and exceed their expectations. 

5. Embrace Rejection

In sales, you will always be met with rejection.  Accepting this fact, and learning from your no’s is key in becoming a better salesperson. A better way of dealing with rejection is by better uncovering why the prospect did not buy from you.  This will help you build confidence and improve your sales process with better prospect information.

Elite salespeople are quick to get back on track and have robust sales pipelines. Rejection in sales is just part of the job that helps them move on to the next opportunity.

6. Learn from a Mentor

Learning from a mentor is one of the best ways to build confidence in sales and become a better salesperson. Having someone who can show you the ropes and provide constructive feedback, can drastically improve your sales abilities. If your company is looking for professional sales training, guidance, and leadership, check out our sales growth coaching program. 

7. Review your Strengths and Weaknesses

All great salesperson take time to evaluate their strengths and their weaknesses and focus on leveraging their strengths, while working on strengthening their weaknesses. Purposely identifying areas where you seem to excel in prospecting, communicating with prospects, or closing deals, can help you increase more of those desired actions. Sales evaluations can provide salespeople insight in areas they may not recognize, to help build confidence in your selling approach. And by identifying your weaknesses, you can improve upon your weakness or work around it. Successful and confident salespeople are continual learners that intentionally gather information about their own strengths and weaknesses.

8. Identify what Motivates You

We all have motives behind everything that we do.  Identifying what motivates you can be one of the best things you can do to become a better salesperson. Are you motivated to become a better version of yourself?  Do you seek praise and want your work to be recognized?  Are you trying to achieve the lifestyle of your dreams? By recognizing what motivates you, you can start to put into play an action plan that gets you to your goals. This can be all the motivation to become a better salesperson and close more deals.

9. Be Able to Walk Away

Earlier we mentioned the importance of following up.  But it’s also important to know when to fold the cards and walk away. If you’re reaching into double-digit attempts in outreach to a prospect, or they have seemed very standoffish, it might be in your best interest to recognize the situation and walk away. This can be hard to do the further you are down the sales pipeline, but you must be able to let go of a prospect and move on to your next opportunity. If a prospect is not returning your emails or phone calls, your time is better spent on new leads.

10. Prioritize your Wellbeing

You have to prioritize your work/life balance and mental health. You’re no good to your company or your prospect’s time if you have too much going on, are burnt out, and distracted. The world of sales can seem like it’s always moving and moving quickly, which can be stressful.  Taking frequent breaks, getting fresh air, taking time off, and prioritizing a personal life can help counter balance the stress of your job and prevent burnout. In order to be relaxed and confident in selling, you must be healthy of mind and body!

 In Summary

Selling is not going to suddenly become easier.  Leads are not likely to become more plentiful. So, the question that is worth asking is this:  What will you do to create your slight edge in selling? What are the little things that when done week in and week out will amount to great progress in terms of your production? Try out one or all of these 10 tips for building confidence in selling and let us know how they work for you.

Important Sales Concepts

In this article, we'll be covering some of the most important sales concepts to keep in mind when you're out there selling, these are:

• Be Unique
• Start Strong
• Identify Objections
• Follow Up
• Get a Decision

In our sales training classes, we spend a great deal of time on the appropriate "attitude" required to be successful in selling. With the right attitude, you can count on consistently executing the required conduct and sales techniques to be successful.  I once heard another sales development expert explain that "sales technique is just a change in language.  You already have a sales language; it just may not be as effective as it could be."  (If you want additional information on "attitude", you can find more posts in our blogs.) 

However, in this article, we'll be focusing on 5 important sales concepts.  You can also call them "techniques" but sometimes problems occur when someone tries to duplicate the exact technique that a trainer uses.  For example, if your facilitator is from the northeast part of a country where the communication style is a little more direct, faster-paced and some would describe as "aggressive", but you are a mid-westerner, then you may find yourself failing to bond well with prospects, not because of what you have said, but more because of how you said it.  So, for that reason, we'll focus on the concepts and let you develop your technique.

However, with that in mind, don't let your "record collection" or "need for approval" get in the way of executing the concepts. (There I go again- back to attitude)

Sales Concept #1:  Be Unique.

You have your elevator speech, your 15-second commercial, your value proposition, your positioning statement, etc.  It doesn't matter what you call it.  The concept is this:  Have a concise way to describe to someone what you do when you first meet him or her. 

Here's the problem.  Everyone in selling has been taught the elevator speech, the 15-second commercial, the value proposition, and the positioning statement, etc.  You know it's supposed to describe what you do: 

• "I help companies like yours manage their insurance risk." 
• "I sell customized clothing to busy executives."
• "I own a CPA and tax consulting practice specializing in the needs of companies that generate between 5 and 10 million dollars in revenue".

Sound familiar?  That's the problem.  There is nothing unique about the approach from any one of these statements. Here's the rule about the concept:

What you say should cause the person with whom you are talking to respond either verbally or mentally in one of three ways.  You have to give the prospect a compelling reason to keep listening. When you deliver whatever it is, they should respond with either:

1. "That's me".
2. "How do you do that?"
3. "Tell me more."

Examples:

• Insurance:  "I provide people buckets of money in the right amount, at the right cost and at the right time." (How do you do that?)
• Banking:  "My clients are companies that discovered that working with a bank should be more than just a place to get money or leave money." (Tell me more.)
• Accounting:  "I'm in the business of helping small businesses that are sick and tired of sending the government more money and keeping less." (That's me!)

The idea is to think about what people or companies have chosen to do business with you or your company or why they buy the product and service that they have bought from you. What problem was it that they wanted to go away or solve?  Or what benefit were they looking for that they weren't getting?  Take that information and create your "unique sales approach" (usa).

The technique:  Before you deliver your "usa", you may want to start by telling the person that you are talking to that it is easier to describe what you do by asking a couple of questions. "In a nut shell, what I do is...(deliver your usa)" and close by asking, "May I ask you a question?"

Sales Concept #2:  Start Strong.

The start of any undertaking is obviously the most important step.

"Every journey starts with the first step" 

"If you want to run a marathon, you have to start with the first step"

"Putting yourself in a position to win means you have to start competing"

When it comes to building the confident and trusting relationship associated with a strong seller / buyer relationship,  the start is especially true. I'm not just talking about the immediate "bonding and rapport" part of selling.  That is important, but the "start" isn't a 5-minute segment of chitchat talking about the sailfish on the wall or the soccer pictures on the credenza.  No, the start is the entire first contact process.  It doesn't matter if it is a phone call or a meeting at a chamber meeting or the initial meeting after the phone call.  It's the start that will often, if not always, determine your finish. In today's post, I focus on the initial face-to-face meeting with a suspect.

I want to describe this segment via the "HAVE-TOs"

• You have to be prepared (pre-call strategy).  Aside from your internet research, you have to prepare for the sales process.  In other words, you have to know what questions you are going to ask that are going to move the sale forward, not just questions about the technical aspects of their current position or status.  You have to anticipate the suspect's answer to those questions and then be prepared with your follow up dialog.  Too many sales people take this step for granted because "they've been in the business for ... years."  You have to be prepared for their questions and how you will respond to them.  And finally, you have to be prepared for curve balls.  Suspects / prospects always throw them, and when you are unprepared, you will always miss them or certainly never get a clean hit.
• You have to identify clearly what your preferred outcome is.  In the book, Getting to Yes, the authors do a great job of explaining how defining your preferred outcome helps guide you through any meeting that you have.  In selling, and specifically for the initial call, most sales people define the objective of the first call as "to get a second call".  I will change that and suggest that your objective be to make this the only call.  Try to disqualify your suspects instead of trying to qualify them.  I guarantee you will end up with more qualified opportunities.
• You have to demonstrate your credibility, not by what you say, but by how you conduct yourself.  Make yourself different (see first blog in this series). You will do this by the questions you ask, by your focus on the prospect and what is important to them, and by your reluctance to get into a sales pitch and do a data dump in their lap.  You demonstrate your knowledge of the industry by the stories, analogies and metaphors you use about their business.  You demonstrate your professionalism by the way you ask professional penetrating questions and by how you don't look, act or sound like every other sales person that has met with this executive.
• You have to have the courage to ask the tough questions and have fierce / honest discussions.  Everyone reading this probably knows the questions that you are supposed to ask and how you are supposed to ask them and when you are supposed to ask them. Yet, every one of you most likely leaves initial calls having failed to ask the tough questions like, "How will you make this decision?  When do I meet the decision maker?  If you don't have a budget, then how will you pay for this?  If you are shopping for low price, then what happens if I show up and I'm not the low price?  Who wins a tie?  When you told your current provider that you were unhappy with the current situation and you were shopping to replace them, what did they say?"  And finally,  "When I show up to make my presentation, I need for you to be in a position to tell me 'yes' or 'no', what objections do you have to that process?"  You all know that you should ask those questions, but time and time again, you fail to.  How come? 
• You have to leave your need for approval at the door when you leave the house in the morning.  You have to re-write your record collection about how people buy in your industry. (Let your sales manager stew over that one.) You have to leave your personal buy cycle at the car lot where you debated for the last three weeks on which make and model to buy and where you negotiated with the manager for 2 hours.
• You have to qualify suspects/prospects to do business with you rather than you attempting to qualify to do business with them. Too many salespeople still go to a meeting feeling like they have to qualify to do business with someone.  No, you don't.  You have to make sure that the person you are meeting with qualifies to do business with you.  Not just from a profile perspective or from an underwriting or credit perspective.  Also, qualifying is more than, "Did you do a needs analysis, discuss the features and benefits, get a budget, and agree to a decision-making process?"  In our world, in our effective selling system, it means the following:
1. Do they have a compelling reason to take action quickly?
2. Will they invest the time, money, and resources to solve a problem they have or the problem they see coming?  Will they invest that time, that money, or those resources in a timely fashion, or are they in the "seeking" mode of buying?
3. Will they tell you "yes" or "no" when you present?  In order to do this, you MUST have eliminated the current provider.  You MUST have heard them say they want to "fix it", whatever "it" is. And you MUST have a solution that is appropriate for their problem.  You cannot make the mistake that, even though your solution isn't exactly right, you are good enough to sell them on buying something that doesn't fit their exact specs.
• You have to close.  Not close the sale, but close this step and get a clear next step.  There is always the next step even if you are in a "one appointment close" business.  It doesn't matter if your business requires multiple meetings, or one and done.  Always close what you came there to do and then move on.  I promise you that, if you get masterful at this step, you will have fewer meetings and your close ratio will improve.  Ask for closure, ask for a clear next step, ask for the business.

Sales Concept #3:  Identify Objections.

If you've been in sales training with any reputable training company, at some time you will have the motivation the prospect has to take action, the commitment for a budget of time, money, and/or resources to make the problem go away, or to make their dream realized. 

The normal process now is to agree to make a presentation, answer their questions, and at that time overcome any objections they may have.

Dealing with objections is really important, but dealing with them for the first time at presentation is Wrong! 

The time to eliminate the objections and stalls and to be completely prepared to answer questions is right now!  It is absolutely critical that you find out in advance of your presentation what the objections and stalls will be to making a decision.

This is not a complicated step but it may be difficult if your own buying cycle or record collection does not support the execution of the step.  Here are the steps to executing this step and making sure you improve your probability of closing the business once you present.

• Review the motivation to take action and the budget items
• If you haven't already done so, make sure that the prospect has committed to fixing the problem and to finding a provider for the solution.
• Transition into the "pre-close step"-  It may sound something like, "I hate to assume things so I'd like to get clarity on our next step.  Can I share with you the process that seems to be mutually acceptable to most people I work with?"
• Commitment dialog-  "I'll be prepared to come back and present a proposal.  The proposal will meet your expectations in every aspect in terms of objectives and features and benefits.  I'll present a solution within the budget parameters discussed.  And I will be prepared to answer all of your questions.  If I can't deliver on these three items, then I won't need to make a presentation.  When I finish my presentation, I'll need for you to be in a position to do one of two things.  Can I share that with you?" (Assume "yes")  "One thing you could do is tell me 'yes,let's do business.'  The second thing you can do is tell me 'no, let's not do business.'  Either one is ok.  I would prefer that you tell me yes, but no is ok."
• Identify objections - "What objections do you have to this process?"

This process will not eliminate objections; it will move them up in your sales cycle.  This, in turn, allows you to separate the contenders from the pretenders and present only to those that truly qualify to do business with you.

Sales Concept #4:  Follow Up.

You've prepared.  You had a great start to the relationship by conducting an amazing first client-facing appointment.  Now what?  "Now" is where the weak link normally occurs in every sales organization's execution of an effective sales process. 

"Now" is the follow-up after the appointment and the preparation for the next step.

Assuming that the next step is to present a proposal that meets the client's needs, it's within their budget and you'll be in a position to answer all of their questions once you present.  Having stated that, your follow-up should be a memo or documented communication of some sort that should review what has been discussed and what is expected at the next step. The next step in our example is "presenting a solution".  Sandra Usleman of USI - Austin calls this step the "as we agreed to" letter.

The "as we agreed to" letter would look like and read something like the following:

• Opening, greeting
• Review previous meeting discussions
• "Agreed to" points
• The problem or desired outcome
• The budget of time, money or resources needed to solve the problem or arrive at the desire outcome
• The decision process
• Next step - getting a decision to move forward or stop
• Follow-up phone call to confirm the contents of the letter

As simple as this may sound, it can have a significant impact on your ability to close more business. The challenge isn't in completing this step; the challenge is making sure that you cover the critical points in an effective selling system as outlined above.

Sales Concept #5:  Get a Decision.

Every salesperson worth their salt will need to be able to close, of course.

Every salesperson has been taught to 'Ask For the Business',  'Always Be Closing', 'Get The Sale'.  The problem with these exhortations is that salespeople translate them into 'get a yes'.  Which is different than getting a decision.

Salespeople struggle in getting decisions because they are afraid to hear 'no' or their sales leadership has not given them permission to get a 'no'.  If you don't get a 'yes, then typically the next alternative is 'think it over' or any one of its relatives:

• Showing it to someone
• Getting additional proposals
• Going to committee
• Have to look at the numbers
• Haven't met with my current provider yet

All of these are rotten alternatives to a no.  You lose sleep.  You make unreturned phone calls.  You get more delays.  You lose confidence.  You lie to your manager telling them that you 'think' you're in good shape, should close now any day, they liked us, they loved the proposal, it just has to...

Makes you sick just thinking about it, doesn't it?

So, here is the 5th of 5- Get a decision.  Prior to making your presentation, you have to make your pitch as to what happens next.  It sounds something like this:

Let me review to make sure I understand what we need to do next.  First, you want me to come back and provide you with a solution to all of these problems we've discussed today that are costing you lots of heartburn and money.  Next, you want me to provide you with a solution within the guidelines we established relative to your investment of time, money, and resources.  And the third item is an assumption. I assume you want me to be able to answer all of your questions at that time.  Does that sound about right?  

Good.  I need for you to be in a position to tell me one of two things, either one is ok. Can I share that with you?

Good.  When I come back and fulfill my part, I need for you to tell me 'yes, this makes all the sense in the world, let's do business' or tell me 'no, we aren't doing business. I would rather hear yes, but no is ok.  What objections do you have to that process?

This WILL NOT eliminate objections.  It will just move them up in your process and give you the chance to deal with them prior to presenting instead of afterward.  You deal with them now and you either eliminate them as a qualified prospect and don't present or you present to a qualified prospect and get an answer.

How important is it that you or your sales team close more business, more quickly at higher margins?

If you think are leaving dollars on the table and need to find a solution to that problem, there are two things I want you to recognize:

1. Your current sales process is perfectly designed for the results you (or your team) are getting today – if you are not closing as much as you believe you should, then there is something in your process that has to change
2. That change starts at the beginning – the phone call to set up the appointment

The quality of the phone call will always determine the quality of the appointment. If your salespeople must have better initial calls then they must improve the quality of the phone call.

To get you started, here are 4 rules for salespeople:

1. How you say what you say is more important then what you actually say. You must ask questions and then really listen. If you tell stories, use metaphors and analogies. You need to have appropriate eye contact and body position, voice inflection, and background especially in today’s virtual world
2. Nobody really wants to talk to you – this seems like a harsh rule- but if you know this going in, that will help you be better prepared to nurture the discussion
3. You have 10 seconds to make a GREAT first impression. If you show up late for the zoom call or meeting, you’ve already lost. If you don’t have compelling and CEO like questions to ask that really engage your prospect, you are behind the 8-ball.  If the prospect cannot connect with you in the first 10 seconds, everything is uphill from there.
4. Finally practice and record your opening dialog. Listen to it. If you were someone you’ve never met before - would you engage? (Sales coach, you should listen and provide feedback that is helpful to your salespeople)

Salespeople must have a strategy or plan for success going into the meeting. Not a plan that is developed in the car during the drive to the appointment but rather one that is thought out in a pre-call strategy session. Here are your two objectives:

• The overall objective should be to have a go or no go at the end of the meeting – that doesn’t mean buy or don’t buy, it just means that you move to the next step or don’t.
• The secondary objective is discovering as much as you can about your prospect’s motivation to meet and have the discussion you are having. Normally this involves a pain they want to eliminate or an opportunity that they want to leverage. Find out their compelling reason to take time out of their schedule.

One thing we know for sure, prospects don’t take time out of their schedules unless there is an underlying reason. As salespeople, our job is to find out what it is.

In today's blog post, we discuss the importance of calling a sales audible at the line of scrimmage.  Like an elite Quarterback, an elite salesperson must be willing to change things up when they're not working and be open to trying something completely different in the field.

We've all been there before and we all know the definition of insanity by this point.  So, what can you do about it when things aren't going your way and you are ready to increase sales?

An audible is, "A change in the offensive play called by the Quarterback at the line of scrimmage."

A few years ago , I thought of that definition in Chicago, IL, as my Uber driver made several deviations from her GPS directions in transporting me from the Midway Airport into downtown.

As I rode along with the windows down on a beautiful and sunny day in the Windy City, my thoughts turned from sightseeing to salespeople—specifically, the need for salespeople to make changes on the fly, whether that be during the initial phone call, the first meeting, or even at the time they present their solutions.  

Is there a better time than right now to try something different in your sales approach?

Anyone and everyone who has had any exposure to our company knows that we are completely sold on the importance of process.  We have table-pounding conviction around how important it is for a business driven by sales to have certain key processes in place regarding their sales infrastructure. 

And, of course, we believe that sales training creates the most return on a client’s investment when the salespeople and sales managers are following a sales process where opportunities are moving through the funnel in a stage-based and milestone-centric manner. 

We believe that firms who don’t have a consistent sales process (everyone following the same steps and using the same terms to describe stages in the sales process) but who implement such a process can often see a 15% to 20% increase in new business sales.

But, here is something worth remembering—life is complicated.  Ferris Bueller (I can’t come to Chicago and not think of him) told us to slow down or we might miss something. 

And the same is true with selling.  Sometimes you just need to slow down and do something unconventional.  Sometimes you need to do something that is contrary to what even your training has taught you to do. 

Sometimes you just need to call an audible.

To be clear, usually your training is going to be correct.  But, sometimes, you will need to remember that selling is both science and art, and the art part means you might need to listen to your heart and occasionally let that heart override your mind. 

Of course, the best in the business know when to listen to their head and when to listen to their heart.  And if they get it wrong every so often, so what? 

They get back up and they keep going.

So, listen to your heart.  Sometimes you will need to call an audible to get back on the saddle and to increase sales within your organization.

In this blog post, we discuss the idea of using older (yet effective) techniques to find success in the chaos of today's selling landscape.  Let's face it; with the influx of social media, apps, and online distractions, it is actually harder to reach a prospect than ever before. 

However, we are here to help you stand out in the market and avoid sounding like every other salesperson.  It is important to strike a balance between both new and old school sales techniques when selling in today's world.

I’ve heard it said before, 

“Never throw out your clothes, just wait 10 years and they will be back in style”. 

In some ways, the same thing can be said about how people should think about selling. 

Like many things, technology can be used for good or bad.  The good, specifically on the topic of sales; is that it's a great way to increase your opportunity to reach potential clients.  With a few clicks or keystrokes, my message can be transported along the information super highway to its intended recipient via e-mail. 

Using Twitter, I can, in 280 characters or less, tweet or retweet, something I read, attach an article, share my own content, send it to my followers, and more.  Through the use of blogging, I can assimilate my thoughts, write (and edit) them online, and make them available to whoever has access to the Internet.  

All of these methods are fabulous and can be a great way to get your message out to a target audience or to the general public. 

However, technology can be used as a crutch, or, even worse, it can lump you in with everyone else.

One of the keys to being a successful sales professional is your ability to differentiate yourself from the competition.  One of the ways to be different is to actually be different.  What do I mean by this? 

In this age of new technology, there is an older (sometimes forgotten or ignored) device that can help you stand out in the market: the good old-fashioned telephone. It’s not pretty, it’s not cutting edge, but it is still available and can be useful when used properly. Let’s face it, nine times out of ten when you call someone, you will get their voicemail. 

Here is another way to set yourself apart—try not to sound like a typical salesperson. 

Avoid saying,

“Hi, my name is Jack Kasel and I represent my company calling about my product . . . blah, blah, blah."  

No one wants to hear it.

Stop!  Be different!  Leave a compelling message that doesn’t sound like everyone else and then follow up and when I say follow up, I mean follow up until you get a response.  Statistics prove it will take between 13-15 calls before you get a response.  It was never supposed to be easy.  Don't give up!

Don’t discard the new, but don’t forget the old.  Try using an old sales tool, in a new way to be, act, and sound different than your competition. 

Additional Resources

Finally, if you haven’t read this post from Dave Kurlan, I suggest you take seven minutes to do so.  It's a great read on the next game changer for salespeople.

http://www.omghub.com/salesdevelopmentblog/the-next-cant-miss-game-changer-for-salespeople