When was the last time you found an instruction manual for brain surgeons at an airport bookstand? Or discovered an e-book telling dentists how to improve their root canal work?
Exactly. So what is it about sales that everyone who’s ever shifted a warehouse of washing machines or flogged fizzy drinks thinks they can tell you how to do it better?
Everywhere you look there are volumes with titles like 10 Habits of Highly Successful Sales People or Close That Deal Now!
There’s no doubt some do offer good advice but is it worth your hard-earned cash?
And remember: these are sales people you’re buying from – so what are the chances they’ll be gunning to suck you into buying more than just one title?
The good news is that on s1jobs you can find dozens of exciting sales vacancies, many of them providing regular on-the-job training to help you learn the basics – or, if you’ve shed loads of experience already, help you refine and improve your technique.
After all, ‘every day’s a school day’ is the motto of really good sales people, who recognise there’s always something new to learn no matter how long you’ve been at it.
So can any of these books actually teach us anything?
Well, we’ve been turning the pages, soaking up the gurus’ wisdom and trying out the techniques on your behalf . . . and here’s what we’ve found out.
Beyond the shouty titles, 40,000 words, chapter headings, and do’s and do-not’s it all boils down to this:
Listen more than you talk!
Know your products and your competitors’.
Build lasting relationships with customers based on trust and respect.
Deliver what you’ve promised.
Anyone can sell to a customer once but only a great sales person can sell to them again and again!
The overall message in all these pointers is that, in the rush to sign up new leads, don’t forget to know your stuff and keep existing clients happy.
Super-serve them and they’ll do a big part of your job for you, telling potential customers about the standards of your products and services.
And it isn’t always about the bottom line, though that should be competitive. It’s about reliability, professionalism and after-sales service as well.
And you don’t need a mountain of books or an overload of downloads to put this to the test – all you need are the latest Sales vacancies from s1jobs.