If you're in the business world,
perhaps the most challenging part of the entire experience is
selling. Indeed, nothing is more nail-biting than waiting for
the other party to decide whether he or she agrees with you
on the merits of a certain product or not.
You will likely go through countless
books and spend long hours of research on topics like negotiation
training, business plans and strategies, resource management
and obviously, selling. But one of the most important tools
a salesperson should possess, in order to be successful in selling,
is persuasion.
First, the attitude of persuasion
comes from within. You have to believe and convince yourself
that you can sell, and sell a lot!
You have to orient and tell yourself
that you have the capacity to offer a product or service to
someone else; have him need what you're offering.
If you cannot develop that sense
of persuasion in yourself, then it would be very difficult to
become a persuasive salesperson. Develop the attitude and belief
of being a persuasive salesperson even to the least of things.
How? Persuade yourself first.
Two, you cannot sell something
you do not know anything about. You can have a hundred stocks
of the best and latest necessity known to man; but without knowing
a thing about it, you would not be able to sell a single item.
So to be a persuasive salesperson, you have to know the details.
Research and study. You have to know the most intricate details
of what you're selling because people are going to be asking
a lot questions about it.
Even if you're simply trying
to be a persuasive food salesperson, you have to know what you're
offering. Vegans, vegetarians, ornish, and pritikin consumers
are going to be asking; and you are the only one who can respond.
You wouldn't want to buy from someone who himself is doubtful
over what he's selling. If you can't respond, then you can't
sell. You can't sell what you know nothing about.
Finally, there's confidence.
Now that you're equipped with the attitude and knowledge on
how to be a persuasive salesperson, you can try overcoming that
fear inside you to come up to that person and persuade him that
he needs what you have. It's that same fear that separates the
common salesperson from the successful ones.
This is the time you should begin
asking yourself the "What-Ifs". "What if he ignores
me?" "What if he's in a hurry?" "What if
he doesn't need it?" These are the questions frequently
asked by those who don't have the other two qualities on how
to be a persuasive salesperson. If you know you can sell and
you know what you're selling, confidence will materialize independently.
Then you can casually come up to anyone qualified and sell successfully.
The power of persuasion is an
indispensable tool and you should hone your skills within these
three principles. Keep them to heart and before you know it,
you'll be earning more figures than you can ever expect.
