1. Act as if you don't need the business. Desperate salespeople come across to the buyer as less effective. Be blas Don't beg. A direct relationship exits between their confidence in you and the amount of confidence you have in yourself.
2. Know your target's industry inside and out. Be able to speak the jargon by the final interview. Knowing insider terminology is a heavily used persuasion technique by the top sales professionals.
Video: Ken Sundheim - Sales Tips
3. Never use the word "no" during the final discussion. When combined and verbalized in a business atmosphere, those two meager letters hold a negative power and can turn a check signing meet-up into a different meeting altogether.
4. Keep your prices where they are supposed to be. Giving discounts is a bad habit for sales professionals to get into. Salespeople start cutting prices when they get antsy about the close. Many times, to a customer, cheap means inadequate or possibly defective.
5. Become a necessary evil. Networking and getting clients to like you is a big part of being a salesman or saleswoman. However, being the best in your field means that a client can dislike you yet feel compelled to keep signing on the dotted line.
6. Gain what I call the "Goldman Swagger." Yes, Goldman Sachs has nearly the best people in the
banking industry, but that is not their one and only reason for success. Their massive success comes equally from ego. Think that you're going to close the potential client and more likely than not that confidence will morph itself into a wire transfer.
7. Don't ever think of yourself as a salesperson. Think of yourself as a cultured, intelligent and knowledgeable business professional.
8. Base salary is important. Lack of salary turns into desperation and clients get turned off by first hint of neediness. What's more, desperation can lead to ethical misconduct. Keep your expenditures low at first. There is an inverse relationship between the need for funds and the client's desire to use your services.
9. Research, research and research some more. When you are attempting to close another individual and persuade him or her into writing a large check, you should know everything there is possible to know about that person, his or her company, and that company's place in its industry.
10. You are the expert, not your client. Most B2B transactions are the result of the failure by a competitor of yours to provide your potential client with a needed product or service.
Visit Ken Sundheim's Blog KAS Write, Business Development Articles Sales and Marketing Articles that have appeared on sites such as WSJ.com, Forbes.com and NYTimes.com Ken also runs KAS Placement Staffing Agencies NYC Headhunter NYC Recruiters Marketing Staffing Agency a sales and marketing job search firm helping job seekers in Marketing Headhunters Boston Recruiting Firms Boston Sales Recruiters
