Salespeople must first learn to sell themselves

Today there are still many such salespeople using these tactics. In fact, there still appears to be more of these “non-sensitive” types than there are “sensitive” ones. They believe that the best way to sell to a customer is to “impress” them with their confidence and knowledge; thus cowing the unfortunate shopper into buying the product.
However, the time has come to unlearn the “hard-sell” mentality and to learn a new approach. There are two things one must remember when selling to a customer, firstly – knowing when to shut up and listen to what the customer has to say – and secondly, inquiring thoughtfully of the customer what exactly it is he or she is looking for? Salespeople also need to discard the myth that keeping quiet reflects a weakness in their verbal armour and leaves them missing the “big catch”.
Yesteryear’s salespeople need to accept the hard reality that their old ways of selling have been relegated to the annals of history. In the new world of social networking, smartphones and the Internet, the reality is that people think and behave differently.
Today’s new generation do not feel pressured into buying – they do not want to feel that they have been sold down the garden path. Try to recall those times when you bought some?thing from someone. What was the persuasive factor that made you reach for your wallet? Those who answer this question normally say it was because they felt the person they were buying from was “trustworthy”.
This is why “high-trust selling” rules in the modern world sales. One of the key drivers of high-trust selling lies in the seller’s ability to build a rapport with the buyer first before moving in for the kill. What are the option with this approach?
The seller must first listen very attentively while the customer does the talking; so that it is possible to accurately identify the customer’s requirements and needs. The customer, no doubt, has questions and it’s the duty of the salesperson to answer them as accurately as possible. This makes the buyer feel more at ease, because instead of being pushy and flippant, the salesperson appears to show a real interest in the needs of the customer. Listening also means that the salesperson is giving them what they really want – even if this falls short of what he or she initially intended to sell to them. A show of sincerity creates a bond with the customer and may go a long way towards ensuring that the customer returns at a later date.
With high-trust selling, the salesperson does not need to push or manipulate the customer. In other words, there’s no need to pressure the customer into buying something. Instead the onus to buy is now on the customer. If a trust is built up, the salesperson is already halfway to making the sale.
One final advantage of high-trust selling has to do with adjusting one’s personality to suit that of the buyer’s. There is no one-selling style that fits all customers. People come in all shapes and sizes – some want lots of details before making a purchase; others rely on gut instinct; others buy because they want to please someone else.
Whatever the customer is looking for, an experienced high-trust salesperson can quickly work out what type of customer he or she is dealing with through studying and observing them.
The new learning for salespeople is therefore to learn to sell themselves first, before selling their products and services.