I’ve read a lot of sales advice for new salespeople and the unconventional lessons that I’ve learnt are as follows.
Copywriting Skills
I have seen a lot of sellers focus immensely on process, which is a good thing, but not enough on the magic contained in each action of the process. A salesperson must be a skilled linguist. As someone steeped in literature, I ignored this piece of advice as well initially in my early days as a seller because no one really talked about it. But I have seen the world of difference that an email inflected with emotion and beaded with thoughtful words can make.
Be Yourself
As a new salesperson, I thought I had to speak and act a certain way and raise only certain questions. New salespeople often believe it’s wrong to show any type of emotion and it was opportune that one of my mentors affirmed that those human expressions are the points of personalization your prospects can connect with. When you start moulding yourself to be someone you’re not, you start disconnecting with your prospects and your team. Once you start being unabashedly yourself, within the professional confines of work, you will sell better.
Be Confident Yet Humble
This one’s hard but can change everything for you. Know that you’ll always be interrupting someone’s schedule, that’s going to make you humble. Also know that you might help them solve a problem, that will make you confident. Confident sellers become the top reps.
New Technology
New salespeople often forget that the solution they’re evangelical about will need to change and morph as the space and technology around them changes. Being genuinely curious about these changes helps you stay abreast of the competition and identify new opportunities both for yourself and for your employer.
Build Your Personal Brand
New salespeople often think of social media like LinkedIn when someone mentions personal brand but it’s so much more than that. You need to have a lot going on for you outside of work to add to your happiness. Prospects will only hear you pitch if they like who you are, and new salespeople often set too great a weight by their jobs and forget that they need to keep building their skills and work on goals that are important to them. It could be something as simple as staying healthy and reading that adds to your knowledge, happiness, and confidence.
Honesty & an Awareness of Limitations
Being honest about whether you can help prospects or not sometimes might mean admitting your limitations, turning away business, or accepting when a competitor might be better. It might just also apply to you being aware of what your team members do better which helps you build relationships and enhances your social and emotional intelligence.
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