Some people will feel that sales comes naturally to them and others will believe that they couldn’t sell wood to a paper mill. “The truth is”, says Sunjveer Panday, Gold Winner of the Contact Center World Awards for Best Sales Manager in 2017, “everyone of us are salesmen and women. We sell ourselves every day, from the way we present ourselves to our bosses when we are pursuing a promotion to buying a house and even dating someone.”
Panday, who is also the General Manager of the Sales Division at Talksure Trading, started as a sales agent in 2006. Whilst he believes that we all inherently possess the ability to sell, he says that this is a skill that can be nurtured and developed with some deliberate behaviours.
Panday offers the following tips to achieve your sales goals:
1. Have the right mindset
Sales is part of your career or entrepreneurial journey, it’s not just a job. Realise that despite the skills development opportunities provided to you, it is ultimately up to you to take the initiative to improve yourself and work your way up. Accept that this will also take time and develop your resilience to make it through the challenges.
2. Be transparent
A good seller will ensure that customers pay and stay. Be transparent in your approach to them and avoid overselling. Customers appreciate it if you’re upfront so that they know what they’re buying. Get feedback from them and make sure they were happy with the experience and the product. Making up information to make a sale also gives the industry a bad reputation.
3. Set goals
Set realistic goals to achieve within a timeline. These may be professional goals or personal. Perhaps you would like to earn enough to buy a car, take a holiday or be able to employ more staff. These kinds of goals will motivate you on a day-to-day basis.
4. Develop your Emotional Intelligence
You need to develop your ability to work with different people. You can do this by developing your capacity for empathy – put yourself in someone else’s shoes. This is a skill you need to cultivate in practice and will give you an edge in your ability to connect with people and ultimately understand your customer’s needs. If you want to progress to a management role this is also an essential skill in understanding your team. Practice being a good listener and put your ego aside.
“Most of all, believe in what you are selling! If you don’t think that your product or service will truly benefit the customer, they won’t believe it either,” Panday concludes.
