Education

Developing Good Selling Habits

July 5, 2006 | By: deaneparkes

Up to 90% of our behavior is based on our habits. If we want to change our behavior we need to develop new habits.

With this in mind it is easy to realize great selling behavior often requires learning the proper selling habits and continually improving on them.

As we know changing poor habits is not always easy so we need to identify the poor behaviors and change them into positive productive behavior……patience is a very important factor.

Behaviors that result in poor sales:

• lack of product knowledge – Very basic however you must get in the habit of studying and learning everything about the products you sell.
• poor selling skills – To communicate the product knowledge, build great customer relationships and satisfy your customer takes sales skill. The following points are just a few sales skills that can be learned through getting in the habit of reading books and listening to audio CDs on how to sell.
• Inability or indifference to “add on’
• Inability to create product value
• Lack of good probing questions – Try using ‘Tell me’ – tell me what brings you in our store today, tell me why got you interested in _______, tell me how you got so fit, tell me why you became a vegetarian, tell me why you are taking __________, and so on.
• Concerns over saving the customer money
• Not approaching customers
• Not asking for the sale

[Read Stop Ask and Listen Kelley Robertson and No Thanks I am Just Looking by Harry Freidman].

Behaviors to build relationships – Building caring emotionally charged relationships with your customer is the best way of ensuring they return again and again. Listed below are a few behaviors to create strong relationships.

• Never criticize or complain – This should be ‘on the floor policy’. If you feel you have just reason to criticize or complain then take it outside or to the backroom.
• Accept your customer for who they are
• Approval – look for ways to acknowledge your customer and staff (and each other!)
• Appreciation – be thankful. Remember the # 1 reason people quit is due to not feeling appreciated.
• Admiration – ‘I admire you for…’ Words have a powerful impact.
• Be agreeable – do not argue with customers or between each other.
• Attention – focus on your customer 100%. Keep the spotlight shining on the customer; after all they are the start performer in your store.
• Dress for success – wear nametags. It is not a relationship unless both people know each other’s name.
• Learn your customer’s name – Generally when you know their name you already are ahead in creating a lasting relationship. A person’s name is the most powerful word in the world.
• Smile, laugh, have fun!!!!

Traits of a Salesperson

• Love your job – have high interest
• Have clear, written goals – keep a journal of your personal life vision.
• Be flexible – bounce back easily – everyone has a bad day or deals with difficult customers. Everyday is the first day of the rest of your life.
• Commit to life-long learning – Read one half hour every workday morning. Of anything I have ever learned and attempted to share this is # 1. Knowing how to read and not reading is almost as bad as not knowing how to read.
• Use your time wisely – make time for your family and self.
• Network and mentor
• Exude high integrity
• Use inborn creativity – have vision
• Treat customers as VIP’s
• Have a sense of humor
• Work hard
• Give more than expected

Through focused attention on changing poor selling habits you will begin to notice healthy improvements in a very short time.