Sales Techniques – Free Sales Training Articles and Courses

Every sales professional should have a reference library on effective selling techniques. There are lots of sales trainers who dispel “sales wisdom,” which in reality does not help the salesperson improve their sales close rates. Gathered from sales interviews and insights from sales leaders, here are some really effective selling techniques that have been proven to work. Ten sales technique tips that might help improve sales performance.

1. Find the real problem or pain point the prospect is communicating.  Do not fall into the trap of assuming that the prospect is communicating the true problem that needs solving, the so-called “red herring.” It is important to dive deeper into every customer scenario. Like a doctor, a sales professional must ask, “Is this the prospect’s real pain point, or is it just a niggle?” Then, prior to diagnosing and offering a solution on how to address their challenges, more questions need to be asked in order to get at the root of the customer's problem or pain, and then it is the job of the salesperson to demonstrate value to the prospect by aligning the product to the customer's real goal.
2. Telling is not selling.  In the agreement staircase, a sales professional should always be helping the potential customer discover the best reasons to buy from their company and never ever telling them why they should. The potential customer should have decided they will be buying from you before the final proposal or presentation.
3. Two ears and one mouth. The gift of the gab does not hold true. Salespeople should seek first to understand and then to be understood. The first priority is about listening and asking questions. In a digital world, if a prospect wants the lowdown on a company’s products or services, all they have to do is visit the website. Selling is a series of conversations and building trust via honest exchange of information.
4. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes.  Buyers go through a process of self-discovery and education before reaching a decision on which product or service is the right solution. Customers do not like being railroaded and being told what to buy. To avoid the “selling by telling” scenario, it is critical to ask key questions or relate the “feel, felt, found” third-party stories, which guide the customer to discover the benefits and advantages of your product or services. When a salesperson asks open-ended questions that lead to a discovery, the customer themselves owns the discovery, and buyer resistance reduces. Customers do not tend to argue with their own logic.
5. Ask, Sell, Educate. The first goal in selling is to find prospects and then ask why, and under what circumstances, the prospect will buy from you. Asking questions and listening comes first; the sharing of materials, data, and specifics comes next. Ask, sell, and educate in that order.
6. A salesperson’s time is valuable too.  As the sales conversation progresses, a salesperson must make the decision whether or not to continue investing time in the relationship building with the prospect. If a salesperson is a poor decision maker in order to keep the prospect in their pipeline, the lack of clarity and decisive action will be mirrored in the prospect’s actions. A golden rule of sales is the shorter the selling cycle, the more leads that will close.
7. Never Assume. A good sales professional always gets the facts from the prospect about what they need and why. When a prospect is vague with detail, ask for clarity. Never fall into the trap of being a mind reader. When salespeople jump to conclusions, assumptions are made that lead to a waste of valuable time and opportunities being squandered. As the saying goes, Assume is to make an ass out of you and me.
8. Never work for free. When and if a prospect asks for free work, proof of concept, or consultancy before they will make a buying decision, play the “What If” sales game. Paint a what-if picture for the prospect where the additional groundwork or consultancy is completed, which is then a solution that fits everything the prospect needs. What happens next? Will they give you the purchase order? If the prospect flinches at sealing the deal even after the additional free work is completed, or if they introduce another step in the sales process, it may be time to walk away or focus on the new step in the sales process. When you want to know where you stand, focus on the present.
9. Be tough on yourself. It can be too easy to cast blame on the prospect for stalling the process or wasting your time. Instead, look towards yourself. It is the role of every salesperson to guide, assure, and inform the prospect, plus address any detours along the way. The most effective way to improve sales success is to continue to refine your own sales approach and technique while valuing your time.
10. Never perfume the pig.  Never ignore any product limitations or cover over any issues the prospect identifies during the sales process. Always try to be open and transparent about product advantages, parity, and disadvantages during the selling cycle. The prospect will respect a salesperson that is mature enough to never try and blanket over anything, instead turning the focus on how together you can problem-solve, creating a win/win team approach to the prospect's solution.

So there you have the ten sales techniques. It is not an exhaustive list or even suggesting it is all-encompassing, but even if you find one suggestion that will work for you in your sales career, then maybe the ten minutes spent reading this article were worth it. Happy selling, and for more sales tips articles, visit the Bitter Business.

Sales Techniques – Free Sales Training Articles and Courses

Handling Sales Objections – Free Sales Training Articles and Insights

Handling sales objections is a normal part of the sales process. It has been stated many times that a sale doesn’t really start until the customer gives some objections. Handling sales objections is part and parcel of any sales conversation. It is just another sales skill to be mastered as part of any sales process.

Handling sales objections

With your sales mindset fully tuned, you see any sales objection as an opportunity to learn more about the customer’s needs, and to then open up a simple sales conversation with some pointed questions or a personalized value proposition.

The best tip for handling sales objections is to be prepared. They are going to happen in nearly every sales proposal. So, walk in the customer’s shoes, what objections will they have as they relate to what you are selling. You can pre-empt objections (not all of them or all the time) via the use of discovery questions that lead to Aha moments, uncovering needs and a strong, personalized value proposition.

Objection handling Sales Skills

So, here are some techniques and tips on objection handling in sales conversations.

Technique 1.  The 3F Model.

Feel Felt and Found

Example: I understand how you feel, lots of my customers have felt this way, but they found out by doing x, y or z they [name the outcome] ……………………….

Technique 2. Defuse

Example: It’s great you are happy with your existing process, I’m not trying to sell you anything, I’m more interested in understanding your business in case we can help you sometime in the future, can I ask you……………………

Technique 3. Redirect

Example: I appreciate you have no budget right now; I know that lots of my customers face challenges with the purchasing process for [insert your product/solutions]. So, they plan in advance. How does that work with your budget constraints?

Technique 4. Challenge

Example: You have no budget now because you don’t see [my solution] as a priority or your budget is currently tied up?

Not a priority- see technique 1 above.

Budget tied up – how will that hamper your ability to [ list the key problem you solve and include some urgent factor]

OR

I accept what you are saying, however if by no budget you mean no budget for [my solution], leaving budget aside – what would it take for you at least explore the results I know I can deliver for you?

Handling Sales Objections

To help you handle sales objections in the real world, we have listed some common customer objections below.

First up is “The Status Quo sales objection”. The biggest competition in selling, isn’t your competition but the customers preference for not changing. The “happy with what I have “sales objection is a resistance to change or they are happy in their status quo position. The 3F model and defuse techniques work well here.

This sales objection usually goes like this: We’re happy with our current supplier and aren’t looking for anything else.

1.Answer:  That’s great, if they are delivering for you within your budgets and criteria, then I completely understand. I’m not asking you to give me your business but if anything did go wrong in the future, what criteria will you use to select an alternative supplier? Perhaps if you knew a little more about what we do, I might be able to earn some of your business if ever your current supplier let you down?  Would you like to see what we offer over a quick 10-minute call?

2. Answer: completely understand, like lots of decisions you probably moved to your current supplier for a reason. The world of [my solution/technology/market] keeps changing, not to mention the need to [ name a pain point] or reduce costs. That’s why we [company name] [call out your 2 to 3-line value proposition for this specific customer, so it must be personalized]. Quick question, what would it take to be added as an alternative supplier in case anything ever went wrong?

3.Answer: Great to hear. What is it they are delivering for you that shuts out anyone else trying to win your custom?

4. Answer: That is fine, I’m not trying to elbow out anyone you have built a relationship with and is delivering for you. But like everything in business, things evolve and change, so when was the last time you considered reviewing other options for [ name your solution]?

5. Answer: I understand that you feel no need to change, in fact the vast majority of our customers felt the same way until they found out how that using our [name your solution] to [your 2 to 3 line value proposition]. Can I ask you quickly, if you could improve one thing when it comes to [the problem you are solving], what would it be?

The next sales objection is the “send me an email”. Is this an objection, genuine call for information or a red herring to get you off the phone?

Does this sound familiar: Can you send me an email?

1. Answer: Sure. What is your email address?  What information can I provide you with that you’d find valuable? [continue with more discovery questions that you can highlight the answer to in the follow up email]

2. Answer: Of course. Just so I can meet your expectations with what to email you, can I ask what are your concerns or challenges around [name the problem you are solving]?

3. Answer: I’m more than happy to email you our information but I want you to know that I’m not trying to sell you anything as I don’t know if your company is a good fit for our [name your solution plus benefits]. What is your view on [ ask an insightful discovery question]?

4. Answer: Sure, just give me your email address. In order to know a little more about our company and solutions, what information do you need to see from me for us to continue a conversation in a bit more depth?

Another common objection handling situation is the “No budget available”. If this sales objection happens early in a sales conversation or during a discovery call, then refer to the status quo objection and techniques listed above. The other approach is the reality that they have zero budget right now!!

Prospect says: I don’t have any budget for [your product or solution]

1. Answer: I completely understand, can I ask how do you allocate your budgets and when does your new budget get approved?

2. Answer: That is no issue, I’m more interested in understanding your business than selling anything. I really want to open a dialog with you to give you some valuable insights without taking up too much of your time. [Ask a deep discovery question where you can answer and give the customer an “Aha” moment.]

Then we come to the “better price elsewhere” objection. Buyers decide on price when they can’t see the difference between two products. Research shows that (apart from low regret decisions) price is never the number one deciding factor. Pricing in the more complex or potentially high regret decision usually comes in as the third or fourth factor.

1. Answer: You obviously have concerns about the value my product/solution can bring to your business. Can I ask you what or to whom are you comparing me against? [focus on the outcomes and your points of differentiation, do not haggle on price as they just may need reinforcing on Why You.]

2. Answer: Is the price the only thing getting in the way of you placing an order with me? [when asking this question, you must get a full “Yes commitment” answer]. So, if we can agree on a pricing structure [not discount, pricing structure could be how they pay for it] today, do I have your business? https://www.youtube.com/embed/X7rRxNkLnKc?controls=0

There are many, many more objection handling techniques or answers than those outlined here. Objection handling sales skills training is a key sale skill every salesperson must master to be successful at selling or cold calling. We hope some of the techniques and tips on objection handling will help you improve your progress in any sales conversation. Remember, sales objections should be planned for in your sales process or sales training and prepared to handle in every conversation you have with a prospect or customer.

Handling Sales Objections – Free Sales Training Articles and Insights: 

Sales Training Tips

Sales Training Tips: sales training tips to maximise sales performance and investment in sales training.

Sales training is about giving salespeople the skills and tools to be successful. Effective sales training and coaching will cover topics such as: Core selling skills, communication, mindset, motivation, reinforcement, retention and implementation.
These sales training tips have been formulated to deliver actual, real-life results to help  salespeople acquire the the selling skills without the jargon that often surrounds sales training.

Sales Training Insights
Research has shown it can take 10 months or more for a new salesperson to be fully productive. It may surprise you but 55% of salespeople lack basic sales skills and nearly 60% of buyers say the salespeople are unable to answer their questions effectively. The reality is that lack of sales training hurts companies. When sales people lack training or not briefed properly on the sales playbook, process or how to use the various sales tools effectively, then companies can spend a lot of time, energy and resources with zero impact on sales results. The flipside is that a strong commitment to ongoing sales training whether thats online, in class, seminars, workshops etc. will give any sales team a competitive advantage.  

"Companies where salespeople can implement the correct sales methodology and get consistent coaching see over 80% target achievement".

Sales Training Motivation
To start, the best sales training will improve the performance of an individual salesperson on average by 20%.  Another sales training statistic is that 65% of salespeople say the quality of training and learning positively influences their engagement with customers or prospects.
So, well planned, content rich sales training courses supported by a culture of learning will cultivate salespeople that are willing, eager and ready to use the knowledge given to them in their daily sales activities.

Sales Performance Improvement

Sales Performance Improvement: Tips on sales performance improvement for sustainable sales growth

Sales performance improvement is a program of sales training and self development courses to accelerate revenue growth within a company. Sales performance improvement initiatives deliver the best results when sales management and leadership take a partnership approach where ideas and inputs are solicited from the salespeople, and then used in the various courses or programs.
This support approach gives the sales teams the confidence and ownership to improve the sales performance goals. Before setting any sales performance improvement goals, sales leadership has to acknowledge that it is a process not an event, it is a continuous improvement process NOT a single sales training event.

With longer sales cycles, smaller budgets, multiple decision makers and more educated buyers, every business who is striving to achieve sales growth will want to improve sales effectiveness and efficiency through process,tools and technology.

The first step is to understand that sustainable sales performance improvement is a change management project which can lead to resistance and uncertainty, especially if seen as interfering with the current sales model. So it needs to be resourced and planned properly.

The next step is to review existing sales performance improvement assets such as sales training materials, courses, videos, sales playbooks, tools and competency guidelines, as they all play a key role in driving improvement. A business may not have any or all of this content and some or all of the content may not be available in digital formats.

The first real decision in creating a sales performance improvement plan may be to choose between (1) content that is ready (but doesn’t meet the current needs) and use it anyway OR  (2) invest in refreshing, upgrading and transforming the content and templates etc for digital access. A point to note is that research shows that salespeople's learning habits and preferences are changing. They they want shorter, more engaging learning content, for example sales training videos or sales training courses that can be accessed online as needed or accessed in their down time.

Document Areas for Sales Performance Improvement

Sales leadership in tandem with the sales teams views need to create a baseline improvement expectation across ALL steps in the sales process for every sales team member. Then the sales managers or sales trainers needs to document what areas have been identified that require improvement for (a) the steps in the sales process and (b) for each salesperson. These in turn would be discussed with each individual as part of the overall sales training and development plan.
It is important to remember that when documenting and creating a paper trail for each sales performance improvement area is to ensure that all the information gathered is entirely objective, fact based, and specific. The trainer, coach or manager should avoid generalities and provide detailed examples to support each area that is to be addressed. Once the sales performance improvement areas have been communicated to all stakeholders, a number of templates will now need to be created. These typically include what was expected in the agreed sales performance plan and what was actually delivered. Other templates or documents, maybe as part of the companies sales playbook could include action plans, reviews and consequences of veering outside the agreed process's in the plan.

Sales Performance Should Match Salespeople's Goals

Sales performance improvement needs to be aligned to each individual salesperson and their goals from their action plan should be personalized. Within the overall plan, align goals that focus on areas of self-development and personal improvement, individual to each salesperson. To ensure ownership by the sales team for the plan, within the sales training section of the sales performance improvement plan, give each salesperson the opportunity to enhance areas where they are already competent and improve areas where they agree they have a skills deficit.
To migrate any perceived disruption or risk, a company can start by introducing a smaller sales performance improvement plan with lower goals. An example would be a goal to improve a salespersons sales habit loop such as doing 10 minutes research work ( the research work output should be documented) prior to making a sales call. Another goal example is for a salesperson during quiet time to engage in social/digital selling to connect with existing customers or prospects in the pipeline (again, goals need to be set). Take note that rolling out a new sales improvement plan with goals is not enough, the salespeople have to understand that there be also be consequences such as reviews and evaluations.

Time stops for no one and in a rapidly changing sales environment if there ever was a time to take action to improve sales performance, it's now. Sales leadership, management and trainers need to plan for the future, the future sales model, the future sales strategy, the customers buying journey, the role salespeople will be expected to execute against and how the business plans to develop their salespeople so everyone has a mandate to doing things better.

Future looking leaders never let the pursuit of profit get in their way of progress. Much like any change management process, the sales performance improvement plan will face obstacles and encounter issues. Sales leaders need to focus on how they envision their sales engine performance and sales growth in one to three years time. This includes working with the sales training and development resources to put some well thought out initiatives into play ASAP, as they can often just comply with current objectives. However, they also need to know that management supports them and communicate that it’s not just OK but VITAL that the business  adopts new ways of getting salespeople to learn, develop and grow, so sales performance improvement will be a constant not just an event.

Sales Training Ireland

Sales Training Ireland: Free sales training courses and articles for salespeople based in Ireland

Sales Training, Sales Transformation and Sales Enablement are core areas to be addressed for sustainable sales success in the digital age. The roles and activities of salespeople are  changing rapidly due to the influence of social media, buyer preferences and sales channels. Whether salespeople are selling locally into Ireland or internationally, potential customers and buyers are changing the rules - they are online, digitally and socially networked and more educated in the sales process than their predecessors. These changes into the dynamic of buyer to supplier relationships is now being felt across sales organisations. The biggest question facing sales leaders and management is “How will sales training and education help the sales teams to research, find, communicate and engage clients or prospects across different channels?”.

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Apart from the free sales training articles and tips on this site, we can also deliver highly personalised sales training courses and sales training workshops across a broad set of requirements to salespeople who want to improve their selling skills in sales prospecting, business development, building leads, social selling, lead nurturing, building pipeline revenue, sales process and modern selling techniques.

The goal of Sales Tips is to improve the performance of sales people in Ireland. We research, write and train sales people on the latest techniques and proven sales methodologies. We hope our free sales training articles will improve the knowledge, selling skills, presentation skills and communication skills of each and every sales person who visits this site. From a commercial standpoint, we strive to ensure that all our customers receive real, sustainable value from our sales training.
With a proven track record in delivery of sales strategy, we can raise the skill levels of sales people in the areas of sales communication, sales conversations, prospecting, account development, collaborate and value based selling. Our sales training is personalised to the individual needs of each customer, where sales performance improvement of 10-20% is commonplace. Sales Tips constantly review market trends, sales tools and research for our free sales training articles and workshops to help salespeople become the most effective, confident and efficient sales professionals in their industry.
For further information on our personalised in-house sales training courses and sales training workshops across Ireland, email us via our contact form click here.

Sales Techniques

Sales Techniques: sales techniques tips

A series of sales techniques tips to help salespeople in the sales process whether up-selling to an existing client or trying to open a conversation with a new prospect. Every salesperson regardless of experience needs to acquire a set of sales techniques they can use in any sales situation to progress an opportunity. This list of techniques will hopefully help salespeople to  improve their sales performance.

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Online Sales Training Course

Online Sales Training Course: Online sales training course covering all the key sales skills with modules on sales prospecting,business development and selling tactics etc.

An online sales training course that has been created to meet the expectations of both the beginner and more experienced salesperson. Every professional salesperson understands that they need to build relationships with sets of buyers or customers, which over time leads to sales. Through The Digital Sales Institute sales training course, you’ll learn to how to open, nurture, build and sustain meaningful relationships that profits both parties. 

In the self-educating, digital era, we know buyers and customers can have completed most of the buying process without ever engaging or talking to a salesperson. In fact, due to the ability to easily gather research online and the openness of SaaS models, a buyer can compare and complete a B2B purchase without ever interacting with salespeople. The point is that the time to rethink the impact of the more traditional sales tactics is now, as many of these do not simply work any longer. This change in the buyers journey and the knock on effect to the sales process means salespeople need to transform their sales training and techniques for the digital age.

Any good online sales training course will blend the tried, tested and still relevant sales skills with modern sales techniques that are proven to get the tech savvy buyer to listen whether thats offline or online.  Learning to sell better means adapting to changing buyer habits, and nothing’s changed the sales process more dramatically in recent times than the rise of social media and digital channels. Our online sales course has been specifically designed to help any salesperson to bridge the skills gap, adapt a sellers mindset and take a more rewarding approach to the critical role of selling. The sales course online is divided into modules and separate lesson topics to allow salespeople to target the specific sales area they wish to improve, a sales training course complete with lessons that have been developed by industry experts. A range of sales training courses that includes sales prospecting, closing deals faster, creating and building trusting relationships, coping with the uncomfortable and overcoming hurdles or objections. The Digital Sales Institute online sales training course is self-paced, so a salesperson start and pick up again wherever they left off previously.

Sales Training Class

The goal of the training course is for learners to build modern sales skills and gain the fundamental knowledge necessary for sales success in the digital era through a series of online training lessons. The online sales training course participants will acquire the selling skills to do meaningful research, gather market and client intelligence, select who to target, understand the buyer whys, then develop relationships across a broad range of buyer personas, and propose personalized solutions that addresses the pain points or business challenges of the customers they interact with.