Salesmen

Tusky

are they any sales men or women on boards.ie ? Could you give me a few pointers or tips ? Im fairly clueless...im sure theres some big do's and dont's when youre trying to sell something to someone.

help much appreciated!

Archeron

Hey Tusky,
What type of sales? IT, cars, electronics etc? Who will you be selling to? Shops, home users etc?

Tusky

Archeron wrote:

Hey Tusky,
What type of sales? IT, cars, electronics etc? Who will you be selling to? Shops, home users etc?

Basically its for an interview. They will ask me to sell a random product to them on the stop. I dont need to know about the product, they just want to test my manor and see what I will back down from...so I was just looking for some general tips on how to approach it.

connundrum

The customer with money in his pocket is totally malleable, as in you can pretty much lead him where ya want. Say your selling a house phone..

"And would the phone be used exclusively for incoming/outgoing calls or is there a possibility that you may need to use the line for a fax machine in the future.. how about this 2 in 1 model?"

Companies are impressed when you show them that you have the ability to upsell a product. All they want from you is enthusiasm enthusiasm enthusiasm, you don't have to be the one jumping around the place and climbing the walls, but portray yourself as being interested in the consumer and behind the product 100% (regardless of what the product is).

nesf

Moved to Work.

Tusky

nesf wrote:

Moved to Work.

oops, sorry.

whippet

I am a sales manager at the moment and when interviewing I sometimes use the 'sell me something' line, generally to get a feel for how someone reacts to a non scripted interview and get them to think on their feet.

What I like to hear is:

Initally asking the 'customer' (me) what are my needs. What problems I have had in the past with suppliers, products etc....

and then to address these issues.

In an interview situation I don't really care about the 'close' aspect of it ... that come naturally if the person can sell.

Good (sucessful) sales people are as interested in their customers as they are in themselves.

best of luck,

nesf

whippet wrote:

Good (sucessful) sales people are as interested in their customers as they are in themselves.

I agree (though a good sales person might need only to make their customer's feel as if the above is the case and so on). The best piece of advice I can give you is don't "hard sell". Hard selling is counter-productive in any sales job where you have repeat customers.

Oh and don't repeat view "Glengarry, Glen Ross" before taking the interview

starn

I agree with Whippet. Charm and Confidence are the order of the day. Dont go for a hard sell. The best reps sell without the customer realise there being sold to.

nesf

starn wrote:

I agree with Whippet. Charm and Confidence are the order of the day. Dont go for a hard sell. The best reps sell without the customer realise there being sold to.

To be honest, in some of sales jobs you are pitching a guy who hears pitches for a living. He'll know you're trying to sell him. That's when the wheat are seperated from the chaff

onedmc

The best sales people dont sell to customers they lead the customer to buy.

Make sure you understand what the customer wants and make sure the customer KNOWs that you understand their needs. - ask the customers questions. There is a book about this called "SPiN selling", good to read once, then bin it.

Hard Selling is counter productive but this dosnt mean that you can be hard and show that you want their business. You can be friendly, Warm etc and Still drive a Hard Bargin.

Even (especially) if you dont get the business, dont forget to set up you next sales oppertunity. Eg thank them. invite them to the shows, tell tem about the next time your in the area, ask them can u call them next month about the new range.

If you not anxious or excited about a sales meeting then get out of the business and do somthing else.

onedmc

PRman

Hi,

Before you go into sales you need to ask yourself is this the right career for me? You need to be hardworking, self-motivated, enthusiastic, enjoy working with people, competitive amongst other things. www.salesjobs.ie has a lot of practical tips for salespeople and is worth a look. enjoy.....

pclancy

Personally I love selling stuff for a living and really enjoy the whole process. I hate being sold to though and I can easily see why some people do. Excellent points were made above so Id just agree and say my main method is drop totally to their level, build up trust and respect between both parties, lead them gently but definatley towards the sale making sure they're kept aware their needs are being satisfied and be sure they now think they cant live without this product/service. Dont feed them bull or blind them with jargon. Treat them all as potential friends. Upsell where possible and always sow the seeds for future business.

Close the sale and follow up with exceptional aftersales and they are your customer for life.