Selling a product or service is a different game than it used to be. Today’s consumers are driven by emotion over necessity and require higher levels of engagement and connection than ever before.
Modern salespeople are tasked with the difficult challenge of connecting with consumers on a personal level to make sales without coming across as pushy. Below, 11 members of Forbes Coaches Council share their most important pieces of advice for the modern salesperson in 2022.
Forbes Coaches Council members share essential tips for the modern salesperson in 2022.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Merge The Old With The New
It is critical to know current market trends and become familiar with how people think and act. When you focus on customers’ wants and needs, you think beyond your product and services. The goal is to help your customers find a solution to their problems. This allows customers to see the value you offer and create trust. With trust comes relationship and investment in you! - Divya Parekh, DP Group
2. Become A Trusted Advisor
What decision makers today are looking for more than ever are trusted advisors. To become a trusted advisor, a rep needs to leave their sales baggage at the door (meaning company brochure-speak, training processes, quota pressure and so on) and focus on a true desire to help the prospect solve a problem. People don’t want to be sold; they want you to help them make a decision to buy. - John Lowe, Ty Boyd, Inc.
3. Utilize In-Person And Social Selling Platforms
Follow a successful “hybrid” sales and prospecting process which includes remote/virtual as well as in-person selling. Learn to utilize social selling platforms. Concentrate on the leading indicators of success (behaviors), not just the lagging indicators (dollars/orders). Follow a behavioral plan, and hold yourself accountable for it. Ask for feedback and critique. Become a lifelong learner. - Antonio Garrido, Absolute Sales Development
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
4. Ask Good Questions And Actively Listen
The most revolutionary selling technique is the Socratic method of active listening combined with asking questions that allow potential customers to realize what their real needs are. The most professional sale is the one made by the client. A few good questions may be enough to generate interest in buying. - José Luís González Rodriguez, ActionCOACH
5. Connect With Your Customers’ Values
Your customers desire a personalized, customized experience. Ensure they feel that you care and that you connect with who they are and what their values are. - Natasha Charles, Intuitive Coaching w/ Natasha Charles
6. Understand How People Think
Understand how other human beings think and what matters to them. Don’t rely on tactics that manipulate clients—people are much savvier and discerning these days. With every sale you win, you want to increase your brand value instead of eroding it. Think about winning ambassadors, not customers. Connect with curiosity and have the real intention to serve. - Chuen Chuen Yeo, ACESENCE Agile Leadership Coaching and Training Pte. Ltd.
7. Build Honest Relationships With Customers
The most important advice I can give salespeople is to build honest relationships with customers. You should want to help them get the results they want. Remember that customers are less interested in the product than in the result. Your product may only help solve part of their problem; help them solve the other parts too. - Michael Thiemann, Strategy-Lab™
8. Build Relationships The Old-Fashioned Way
Think about building relationships the old-fashioned way. Take someone out to eat. Invite them to a talk. Send them a thoughtful, handwritten note with an article in it that you cut out of the newspaper or a magazine. Ask them to be a part of something that matters to you in your community or in the community they may share with you. Try to focus on building a more personal relationship and not so much on making transactional sales. - John M. O’Connor, Career Pro Inc.
9. Be A Presence Of Honesty And Integrity
Deep breaths, brother! Just kidding. I would tell them to just continue to be a presence of honesty and integrity, to be giving, and to love their people with kindness, knowledge and friendship. The only thing they need to sell is a good relationship. Get good at being in a community and in relationships with people in meaningful ways, and then sales will follow. - Natasha Ganem, Lion Leadership
10. Help Customers Avoid Pain And Gain Pleasure
The highest level of influence is when somebody can connect their message to the other person’s highest values and vision in a language they understand. Otherwise, the message gets lost, and even if the client needs a service or product, they would not want it. Making them realize how it can help them avoid pain and move toward pleasure creates the right amount of awareness and a sense of urgency. - Csaba Toth, ICQ Global
11. Seek To Understand Before Offering Solutions
Meet your clients where they are. In today’s environment, it is imperative for the “modern salesperson” to develop a curious mindset and seek to understand before offering a solution. I have a mentor who shared with me that “diagnosis before prescription is malpractice.” Take time to develop an inquisitive mindset so that you can understand the needs of your audience before offering a solution. - Bryan Powell, Executive Coaching Space
