BecomingWhoYouWantToBe

The best salespeople know that the key to building their sales over the long-run is by building their client base and growing goodwill among them. Obviously burning bridges by selling something to someone who doesn’t need it is no way to a build a trusting relationship that will lead to recurring sales and new business contact. The job of the salesperson is to find someone who really needs what they’re selling and to show that prospect how what they’re selling fits their needs.

Decision-makers don’t always know what they need. For instance, who realized how much they ‘needed’ computers in their business until they saw dramatic impact they had on office productivity? For the salesperson trying to figure out how to increase sales, it is essentially a numbers game.

While less successful salespeople try to increase sales by laying on a thick pitch that stretches to find some affinity between the prospect’s needs and his or her company’s offerings, the most successful sellers recognize that scouting opportunity is as important – if not more important – than actually pitching the product or service. The premise is simple: find enough prospects that could truly benefit from the product or service and the sale will follow.

That’s why as a way to drive sales, the value of networking really can’t be quantified – or overestimated for that matter. Through making friends and acquaintances with as many people as possible, salespeople have more opportunities to spot one of their trusted allies’ needs and address it thoughtfully with a product or service.

“Relationship management” or making friends is not a new sales idea – schmoozing is considered by some to be its high art. But honest sales isn’t schmoozing; it’s making friends honestly, with no intention of selling anything that doesn’t benefit the client the way that it is promised to.

Most sales supervisors don’t really think back to the basics when they’re asked how to increase sales. But fundamentals can make a greater difference than any sales contest, discount, or turnover of staff.

But the wisest sales managers recognize that the best way to keep increasing sales over the long run is to have a team of trusted, trustworthy networking salespeople who are constantly trying to generate their own leads through their Rolodex of friends and acquaintances.