Enterprise Nation

A whopping 8 page feature appeared in the weekend press and asked ‘what is the secret of successful selling?’ A well timed question as we prepare to welcome leading sales lady, Anne Wilkinson, to our webchat on Wednesday. Ahead of time, we take a look at Sam Knight’s article and set the selling scene.

Well researched

Journalist, Sam Knight, interviewed many a leading sales person for his in-depth look at the history of selling and how to do it well. This is how he describes the art:

“You tend to know when you are selling – as opposed to having another kind of conversation - because there will be a measurable outcome at the end of it: someone will buy, or they won't. More than that, if it is a close decision, you often have a good idea of the exact moment when it goes either way: the phrase that clinches it, the beam of eye contact - or when you're talking and they are no longer listening. It is a tactical exchange. In these circumstances, it is reasonable to think that if the same conversation, in which the same thing is sold to the same person, was carried out in a different way or by a different salesperson, it could easily lead to the opposite outcome. And it often does.”

So how to get the outcome you want?

Sam Knight offers quotes from the professionals:

“You must gain the customer’s confidence and try to make them feel comfortable.”
Larry Julian, market trader

“It’s not as if you have to have a degree in selling, but you definitely need to be able to create a rapport: it’s eye contact, smiling. If you can engage with them, then you usually get a sale. It’s hard to pinpoint. I call it flirting. You actually flirt with customers – you make them feel good about themselves.”
Trudi Prynne, Avon representative

"To be a good salesperson in my business, you’ve got to know your client. So we spend a lot of time with a very soft-sell approach. We like to know what people are like, we spend a lot of time talking, building relationships. But the whole thing is built around the sale. Are you the more preferable person to buy more or less the same thing from that you could buy from someone else? I mean, that’s what’s really going on.”
Hedge-fund capital raiser [anonymous]

And how does it feel when you’ve clinched the deal?

Knight includes a quote from the 1920’s that still rings true today:

“Buck up, my boy. It is in you to sell goods. Before long, you will prefer it to anything else in the world. You will find it more exciting than a race, more exhilarating than a bottle of wine.”

So right!

If you’d like to know more about sales, join us for our Wednesday webchat with Anne Wilkinson.

Look forward to seeing you there for some sales banter! 

• The heart of selling by Sam Knight, 12th September 2008
• Next webchat announced: Wednesday 17th September