Guiding principles to a successful sales career

Dec 18, 2018

All aspiring and even existing sales people would like the magic recipe to have a successful, well rewarded and gratifying career. Is there really a formula or code that guarantees success? Absolutely, and we are sharing some of the most important commandments or guidelines with you, if you follow this formula in your day to day activities you WILL see a phenomenal success rate.
1. Always have your client’s best interest as your priority. We all get challenged when sales are slow to sometimes oversell to achieve target, if this is not done because the client is expanding or shared future which justify a bigger phone system, copier or other office equipment, you are doing the client an injustice and it will eventually backfire.
2. Return phone calls. Nothing more frustrating than trying to get hold of someone, leaving endless messages and just getting g ignored. Even if you are busy, just give a quick courtesy call and let the client know you will call back…and DO call back. It does not matter whether there is in your mind “no more” sales to be had at this client, referrals are incredibly important for a successful sales career. The client trusted you enough to purchase from you, do them the courtesy to return a call whether you think there is a sale to be had or not, the biggest opportunities in many very influential sales careers came from calls or introductions that at the time had very little impact or importance.
3. Do not lie to a client. We can sugar coat little white lies or really big lies, at the end of the day it is something we are all guilty of, believe me, in sales it does NOT work. However tempting it might be to just agree that equipment is capable of whatever even though you full well know it is not just to get that sale over the line. You will be found out eventually and the worst reputation a salesperson can have is that they are dishonest, the world and business community is a small place, somewhere someone will know you and your reputation.
4. Under promise and over deliver. This applies to every single role in business. If you full well know there is not a chance in the world to get something installed or delivered to meet a client’s deadline or a specific date, be truthful, even if you think there is a possibility to achieve it, you can rather delight the client by achieving their expectations than run the gauntlet of an unhappy client.
5. Always close the circle. What do I mean by that? Give your client a call or drop by once the equipment was delivered or installed to make sure they are happy. Client’s appreciate this final step in the sale process so much, but it is so seldom done. Not only does this quite often lead to return business, it also leads to referrals.
6. Punctuality is of the utmost importance. There is not a person in this world that likes to be kept waiting without notification. A professional sales person respects that their client’s time is precious, if you are running late, let the client know.
I often hear people say “sales people are dime a dozen”, and they are probably correct. It is the one career where people with relatively little skill or education can quite easily get a job. The fact is though that the truly effective, successful and well paid sales people are exceptionally skilled and earn more than the average General Practitioner, and we will delve a bit more into this subject in following newsletters. Follow the guidelines, don’t be one of the crowd, be known for your integrity, perseverance, ethics and determination and follow the golden rules and success WILL follow.
A very wise man once told me: “The funny thing is that the harder you work, the luckier you get”. Sales is not luck, it is a science, and remember, whatever you sell have the ability to change a client’s business for the better.
Loanezi loves to support and grow talent and skills within all our Vendors and that is why we offer complementary sales coaching and sales training. If you are in the Tech and Telco B2B sales sector, and you need this in your teams, please reach out to us for more info.