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Our listing of the top 25 books on how to boost your sales was one of our most popular recent blogs. Concrete advice from the experts can definitely take your sales up to the next level. Which is why we’re devoting our blog space to the key sales tips of each author on the list.
This week we shine the spotlight on the work of sales gurus Brian Tracy y Jeffrey Gitomer.
Brian Tracy – The Psychology of Selling
Our self-image has a direct effect on our sales performance. According to Brian Tracy, 80% of sales success is based on personality, and the majority of sales are closed – or lost – in the first 30 minutes of a presentation. Which is why for Tracy, it’s essential to work on self-esteem by building your self-assurance, defining values and always acting responsibly. To overcome insecurities, he suggests we learn from experience and techniques that have worked for other experts. And adapt them to our own circumstances. He also advocates practicing “positive self-talk”: “The most powerful words in the world are the words that you say to yourself”.
Your goal as a salesperson is to guarantee a perfect relationship with your client: building trust, presenting solutions to their problems and identifying other needs you can help to meet. At ForceManager our work requires high levels of vitality and energy: we take our work very seriously. We try to pinpoint obstacles to success so that we can then learn from them – and in so doing, improve our performance.
Putting these lessons into practice has a snowball effect. “When you change your thinking and become a total optimist about yourself and your potential, you will begin attracting into your life other people who think and feel the same way”.
In other words, you’ll increase high-value contacts so as to continue learning about sales management, and convert new prospects aligned with your interests.
Jeffrey Gitomer – The Little Red Book of Selling
Jeffrey Gitomer’s book answers one hundred questions that every salesperson or sales manager has asked themselves during their career. Here are some of his tips.
Gitomer counsels against cold calling. He believes recommendations are 100 times more effective. And giving media interviews, speaking at a business conference or sending a weekly newsletter with relevant information is a great way to raise your profile.
Another challenge is understanding how buyers make their decisions, and what exactly they are looking for. For Gitomer, it comes down to 5 preoccupations in the mind of the buyer:
– A substantial difference between your product/service and that of your competitors
– Added value over and above the competition
– Little or no risk in buying. The consumer has to see that the benefit of owning the product or service outweighs the risk of buying the wrong product.
– The buyer needs to trust the seller
– A lower price.
People who make buying decisions look for convenience, and the security of knowing they are buying what their company needs. You therefore need to address the first four points, price being the least important factor. If you have an excellent product you’ll build a good reputation, reduce the perception of risk and increase the chance of closing the sale.
When it comes to closing a sale there are various methods, not all of which are effective according to Gitomer. Top salespeople are adept at highlighting the no-risk factor in working with them; they demonstrate their commitment indirectly (e.g. how many people will need to be trained to use our product?), offer deals such as trial periods and, if the product doesn’t meet expectations they guarantee a refund.
And they top off their presentation by including customer testimonials to support their pitch and counter possible objections.
What are your favourite books on the art of selling? Share your recommended titles in the comments section below.
