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Why Now Is the Best Time to Learn How To Sell

Learn How To SellShould you learn how to sell? And if so, when?

Well, let me ask you this:

Do you like the idea of being automated out of that job you have?

Does the thought of staying at pretty much the same income level year after year appeal to you?

If you're a business owner but aren't yet convinced that sales is part of 'what you do', are you enjoying the monthly rollercoaster of ups and downs in revenue?

Here's the unvarnished truth:

Now is the best time to learn how to sell. Right now.

Why?

1. It's going to take you awhile.

Selling is a skill. Just like riding a bike, cooking, painting or fencing...there are things you're going to have to learn and practice. Your commitment is required.

Start now, so that in a few months you'll be well on your way to competency. You'll see why this is important in a moment.

2. Many jobs are getting replaced by automation, or downsized out.

If you want to remain at the mercy of someone else and events outside your control, by all means ignore learning sales skills and keep doing what you're doing.

Anything that can be done by fewer people, or a machine, or outsourced to a country with a cheaper labor pool, is at risk of being instantly taken away. The whole concept of work is changing. And having a college degree does not matter.

But sales roles...

3. Skilled salespeople are rare.

Yes, there are loads of people who put on a sales department nametag and head on out--but few, very few, are actually competent. Sales is the only field I can think of that you can be sent out into the front lines without any training. And product training does not count. If you want to learn how to sell, you must begin with a consistent sales process.

Salespeople create massive value. Anyone who can get $2X for something that costs $X will always have a place in an organization.

Selling won't disappear. Able salespeople will always be in demand. And it's simple economics: when supply is low and demand is high, the price (your earnings) go up. So invest in yourself now, and reap the rewards for the rest of your life.

4. Learning to sell will make you a better person and communicator.

If you learn how to sell with a consistent sales process, you will become a more precise communicator. The things you say will have purpose. Take the simple act of asking, "Is this a bad time to talk?" When I call a family member this is the first thing I ask. How do I know what they were doing right before I called? Maybe one of my sisters-in-law is having a meltdown. Checking first is a polite thing to do.

Also, from a personal perspective, I know that learning to sell has made me a stronger person. Since I am looking for best fit rather than a sale right now, I only work with people who will treat me well. This takes away the fawningness that many people associate with selling--as if the salesperson has to become your best friend to get the order. Instead, I am checking for potential problems.

"Easy for You to Learn How to Sell, But for Me...?"

Sometimes I hear people say, "Well, it's easy for you." It wasn't. As a teenager I was nervous. I always wondered what other people were thinking. Getting on the phone was difficult until I got into my mid-20s. And even then, it took about six months as a credit manager making calls until I started getting comfortable with it.

If I can do it, so can you: but the point is, learning how to sell is a transformational process. If you commit to it, learning the skills will make you better.

Sales skills are going to become diamond-value assets in the next several decades. Fewer and fewer people are going to have them. Everyone wants to stay hidden behind a computer or away from the front lines. But for those who want to commit, and transform themselves with these skills, the rewards will be tremendous. Not to mention the stability. When you can pull money from the walls whenever you need it, you can truly write your own ticket.

The time to learn how to sell is NOW.

2022 Update About How You Can Learn How To Sell

The original post was written in 2014 and like many things in sales nothing has changed in the meantime. Despite AI copywriting software and "done for you" sales teams, it's still the best time for you to learn how to sell for yourself.

The first thing to do is find out about different styles of selling, and determine which feels right for you. Hopkins traditional style selling, consultative selling, and Challenger selling are just three examples. Then commit to learning the process and techniques of the individual approach you feel is best for you. Soon you'll be applying a consistent sales process, and knowing why you got some orders and not others.

>> If you're ready to learn how to sell, ethically and effectively, check out SALES ON FIRE <<

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Retail Versus B2B Sales

Retail versus B2B sales are animals of a different shade. If you try to use one skill set in a situation calling for the other, you will likely mess up the sale.

Earlier this week I bought new glasses.

In the process of doing so, I encountered two different and valid styles of selling—each appropriate for their situation, and effective.

retail versus b2b sales eyeglesses example

I'd like to do a quick compare/contrast of these two approaches, so you can understand the difference. In my experience, the public has typically only seen and experienced retail selling. This has resulted in a wide-eyed and "Eww" response early on in my training career when I let a regular person know I was a sales trainer. To the public, selling means lying, pushiness, manipulation and more awful techniques to force the poor, innocent prospect to buy.

And where do they imagine these terrible actions take place? In retail selling situations, of course. Appliance stores. Car lots. Street hawking booths.

This is what the average member of the public has experienced selling as.

Unknown to them is an entirely different style of selling: more consultative, slower, less reliant on a 'director'-style and increasingly about uncovering certain facts together.

But back to my experiences.

Consultative Selling: Retail Versus B2B Sales

First was my optometrist.

Three years have passed since my last visit, and I knew it was time for a check-up from several cues. Driving at night is getting tougher—the degradation of vision "on the tens" at 30, 40, and 50 is striking me. Headlights are blindingly bright. Contrast of shadows is getting harder to detect.

My current pair of glasses are increasingly uncomfortable.

I do not want just any optometrist, however. The guy I go to is talky...an "S" in the DISC profile...but he must have some "D" in him, too, because even though he always seems to have as much time as is needed for the appointment, he somehow stays on track and knows how to direct his staff.

This is the third time I've bought his services since moving to the US in 2009. And I'll be returning as long as he is in business and I live in the area...and maybe even if I move away.

His style is consultative. He answers questions, in full, explaining jargon with ease. And I have many questions.

He was the first optometrist to notice one of my optic nerves might be growing—a serious issue that would require medicine to stop me from going blind in that eye. Our previous visit demonstrated that it had not grown any further, much to my relief.

And so, to put it plainly, I trust this guy.

In spite of the fact that he has standardized tests and specific machines to carry them out with, working with him still feels like a unique experience. One feels that no two visits are exactly alike. Further, I definitely believe he has my best interests at heart.

This experience was much like one a typical member of the public never has: a B2B selling situation.

Slower. More questions. More collaboration. The "expert" not always acting as the subject matter expert, but as an expert process leader.

The end result not pre-determined.

This is key.

Now to contrast, my transactional, retail selling experience after coming out the door of the optometrist and into the frames showroom.

Transactional Selling: Retail Versus B2B Sales

I had not intended to go directly to shopping for frames. First important point here. The salesperson intercepted me.

Even though I was not slowing my walking pace, he knew I was a pre-qualified prospect...because I had just exited the optometrist's office, holding prescription papers in my hand.

What do your customers buy just before they realize they need what you offer? How do they let you know they are pre-qualified prospects?

After stopping me and getting agreement that I was indeed in the market for new glasses, he asked a few pointed questions to find out what kind of style and price range I was looking for.

In the DISC profile, I place him as a "D" with some "I" thrown in for good measure.

Now here comes the kicker:

He upsold me.

And I wanted to be upsold. Even if I had not acknowledged that to myself.

I had Ray-Ban frames last time. Many less-expensive frames were available, and I had said that's where my price range was.

Nonsense, and this guy knew it.

One of the first things he did was establish some authority. I had said I wanted frames that felt more comfortable, and he immediately pointed out how the bridge of my existing frames were too narrow for the actual width of my nose bridge.

I had bought this pair at exactly the same store, but from a different salesperson...who obviously had not cared or known.

This instantly put the retail salesman in the "Director's Chair", which is a good role to be in if you know your stuff. And when I encounter expertise, I am usually surprised—then I start to follow along.

I've had similar experiences buying suits.

When I enter the store, I'll have a basic idea of what I want. But if I encounter a competent director-style salesperson, I'll take their advice...because they do this all day, every day.

Couple this with my decisiveness, and we have a quick sales process.

"No," the glasses salesman was saying. "No...no." He was pulling frames off the rack that seemed to be what I wanted, and trying them on my face for fit.

After a few pairs we found a blue Ray-Ban frame. "Quelle surprise!" as the French say. Despite their being over my "budget", after trying some other pairs it turned out only these would do.

Then, sunglasses.

I haven't worn sunglasses in at least three years. But the salesman smoothly upsold me to this second pair.

Am I an easy mark? Sure, when I deep-down already want the thing. And that is the powerful ability of a competent retail salesperson: to detect and uncover that need.

The budget the prospect tells you is a nonsense figure.

Some people believe transactional selling results in undercutting of price. But that wasn't an issue here, was it?

What matters is their personal stake in solving the problem.

In this case, my personal stake in solving the problem of new glasses was having them fit and look good. And that happily overrode any money concerns.

Retail Versus B2B Sales: Which Is Right For You?

So let's review.

My optometrist is successful with a consultative B2B style of selling. It matches his personality, as well as the service he's providing.

I will see him again.

Could he do it in a "Director" style? Sure. But I'll bet you he wouldn't feel right about it.

The glasses salesperson is successful with a retail selling style, where he is the director of the prospect.

I likely won't see him again: while I did notice a woman who has worked there all the years I've been living in this town, the salespeople turn over regularly. If I see him again, great; but I don't expect to.

His style was a good match for his personality and the transactional nature of the sale.

Had he tried to use a more consultative approach in this situation, I suspect he would miss a lot of upsells.

He did not ask me what I thought of the bridge width of my current pair of glasses: he told me what he knew to be true and established dominant expertise that way.

This works well in retail selling.

In a B2B complex sale situation, it can create resistance.

As you go about your business, start noticing the selling styles of different people offering different products and services in different environments. Does their selling style fit their personality? Does it fit their product or service? How about their environment?

What about your own preferences?

Which approach, retail versus B2B sales, do you think could give you a greater chance of success?

>> Jason Kanigan is a business strategist and sales trainer. To book a call with Jason to discuss your situation, click here. <<

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State of Sales

state of salesState of Sales: I was recently asked on an expert platform what selling techniques, tools or trends we'll be seeing.

State of Sales Trend Number One: Personal Selling Skills are King

Personal selling skills, that is: an individual's ability to sell 1-on-1 in person or over the phone, are going to become noted as one of the most valuable skills in the marketplace. They already are in fact, but have not yet been held up as such.

Automated marketing has worn out its welcome: banner blindness, single digit email open rates, bland copy by a flood of inexpert writers...all have contributed to the end of pushbutton marketing's effectiveness. This may be acceptable as a lead generation tool, but when it comes to qualifying and selling, the return to personal selling, rather than the panacea of automated marketing promising to keep topic matter expert business owners safely away from the scary necessity of actually talking to people, is what will succeed going forward.

State of Sales Trend Number Two: Consultative Selling Skills In Complex Sales

I think we can agree that consultative selling has pushed out traditional features-and-benefits-based selling in the complex sale situation. Many brands of consultative selling exist but the essential process is the same. The learning issue seems to come down to finding and choosing a trainer you are comfortable with. This coach must not be the salesperson's boss, because telling the full truth to your boss can be a career-limiting move. Employees must feel free to share complete details of what is actually happening with their coach without fear of repriasal--or they won't get the benefit of coaching.

State of Sales Trend Number Three: Video Training for Repetitive, Global Concepts

For training, video is an excellent resource. When it comes to repetitive, non-individual-specific concepts and technical information which can be conveyed by automated knowledge transfer, video training is effective.

Business owners and executives are also finally arriving at the understanding that there is no quick fix for sales training. A short technical sales training seminar will not do the trick: employees may get a short term "rush", but in a couple weeks will be back in their old comfort zone and performance limitations. Sales training must be understood as an ongoing investment and process. Many months of consistent effort, training and experience are required even before one can say a salesperson has been sufficiently prepared to deal with the big bad world.

For larger sales forces, one or more dedicated trainers are necessary. If a company tries to have a sales manager who also has a personal revenue quota, that individual will likely fail because they cannot split their effort between selling and coaching.

I may return to this topic of the State of Sales as there is much more depth to explore in the current State of Sales. However, in the meantime, here are many interviews with sales industry experts you can listen to which echo what I've said.

>> My Superpower: "I will find the hidden profits in delivering your product or service to the customer." ~Jason Kanigan | Like this? Subscribe for new posts! <<

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