No matter what field you are self-employed in or what your business is about: If you want to increase your sales and be successful in the long term, you should master a few essential sales skills. In this magazine article, we'll prove to you that you don't have to be a born salesperson to do this, nor do you need to have studied business administration for many years with a focus on sales management. Find out how you can learn to sell and inspire potential customers about you and your product. Let's go!
Who do we trust most in important matters? Of course, real experts, people who have both expertise and authority. If you want to learn how to sell, the first thing you should do is make sure you have expertise and knowledge. However, this alone is not enough - otherwise every professor would automatically be a top salesperson. It is at least as important to present your knowledge professionally.
And how do you best convey your expertise? That's right, with a competent appearance. This includes your language, your manner of expression, your clothing and the overall impression you create. And, of course, your serious demeanor will also determine whether or not you close the sale. Ask yourself beforehand what impression you want to convey and what characteristics or aspects might be important to your potential customer. And then do your best to appear confident and competent and to shine with your expertise.
Seriousness is one thing, sympathy is another. Because there is a very specific principle that you can take advantage of when selling: People who like you have a hard time turning you down. The next tip if you want to learn to sell is therefore: Create sympathy! To do this, you should definitely know what goes down well with your counterpart. And it's actually quite simple: people love similarities. The more similar you are to your potential customers, the better you can sell them something.
Therefore, find out exactly about your target customer in advance and adapt yourself. If you have a sales meeting with a farmer, you will never create a resemblance and appear likeable with a suit, tie and patent leather shoes. So jeans and casual shoes are much more appropriate for this conversation. Well, the example may be very obvious, but it clarifies the basic idea. You can also use facial expressions, gestures, words or other similarities to point out similarities. Often your conversation partner only notices these subconsciously, yet it works wonderfully. Use the power of sympathy skillfully and become a sales genius!
If you want to learn how to sell, then you should definitely know this secret formula: the formula of artificial scarcity. In principle, it says nothing other than that you should create gate closure panic. Because if you make potential customers believe that others could be faster and that they themselves might go away empty-handed, then their incentive increases enormously. After all, no one wants to miss out on a good opportunity and end up empty-handed. So sometimes it can make sense to (artificially) increase the pressure.
How does that work? For example, by pointing out that the product is almost sold out or that the time of a discount promotion has almost expired. Create time pressure and make it clear that this is a one-time bargain that will never be available again. Phrases like "While supplies last" can also be extremely effective. Because not getting something is bad enough. Not getting something because someone else snatches it from under your nose is even worse. That's why, on a psychological level, artificial scarcity is a real magic bullet for sales and distribution.
And here comes our last lesson on the subject of "learning to sell": Once you've made up your mind, you tend to stick with it and even defend it if necessary. As a salesperson, you should therefore elicit a small "yes" to your offer from potential customers as quickly as possible, for example by offering them a sample. The next "yes" will then most likely follow automatically. Now it's your turn: show what you've learned and apply the sales tips at the next opportunity. We wish you every success!
