Repeatedly, I hear people talk about the about the importance of believing in your product or service in order to be successful in sales. It’s a strong statement and one I firmly agree with, because if we don’t believe, how can we convince someone else to buy?
Customers need to know they can trust us. If we are not convinced, people will see through us and we may come across as dubious and untrustworthy.
As salespeople, I also believe it is our job to help the customer. As a result, we need to be genuinely enthusiastic and interested in what we are selling, knowing it is right for the customer.
No one wants to listen to someone drone on about a product or service, in a dull, disinterested or insincere way. In fact, I believe most customers will want to leave the room – quickly.
In contrast, it is always a pleasure to meet a bubbly and enthusiastic salesperson who oozes positivity and is genuinely interested. Their attractive demeanour instils confidence and invites the customers in. Often they will make a connection, which can lead on to a sale.
It is one thing to admit, we do not personally like a product or service, yet we know it is a great fit for someone else. This is not ideal and can still be a struggle. Ultimately, we need to ask ourselves “Is this something I would recommend to a friend or family member?”
If the answer is “Yes”, then we need to remember to stand back and look at the product or service from the customer’s perspective. We need to understand everyone has different tastes and it is right for them.
It is far more difficult when we do not believe in the quality or price of the product or service. Yet, we have choices to turn things around and into a positive experience – some of which include the following:
- Change the product or service offering, amend specifications or just fix it
- Revise the process and/or change suppliers
- Offer mentoring and training to staff
- Invest in additional resources, IT and staff where needed
- Provide aftersales support
- Offer a different level of support or improve on it
- Amend the price
- Source an alternative product, materials and parts
However, if we feel the product goes against our moral judgement, we owe it to ourselves, the customer and our profession to ask ourselves the question “Is it right to stand there and make the pitch to our potential customer?”
In these situations, I firmly believe, the right thing to do is to walk away from the sale. The customer will generally respect us and thank us for our honesty.
And in other cases, it might be best to find a new role elsewhere. And when we do find the company, product or service that we believe in, we will come across as a lot more confident, convincing and ultimately close more sales.