Honesty.
That’s all it takes to become a good sales person.
When I started up with Ozonetel I was a tech guy(I still am). But in an early stage startup everyone does everything. So I had to do sales. And sales means interacting with people. Being an introvert(I hate talking to people. Give me a book anyday :)), it was really really hard to initiate conversations. But I forced myself to do it. After the first few conversations I got the hang of it and over the past 10 years I have sold contracts worth crores of rupees.
I have sent over 5000 prospecting emails. I have met and spoken with 1000s of customers. And the one thing which has always helped me make a sale is honesty.
Humans are social beings. And we have developed systems of picking up small details from other people. How is the person sitting? What words are they using? How are they dressed etc etc? Using all this we build a mental model of the person. Are they likable? Are they trustworthy? All this happens unconsciously. Finally, we make a purchase decision.
The experienced sales people have perfected this art. They know the right words to speak. They know what are the right signals to give. And this is the reason we need to have local sales people. Because each place has its own set of signals and the locals know those signals best.
But I realized that if you are honest with a customer and sincere in your approach to solve their problem you will always send the right signals. You cannot miss. But the trick is to really care. The customers can feel it. We all have been trained all our living years to identify people who are useful to us and those who are not. And when you really care about the other person’s problem, they can sense it. And they will work with you to help them.
That’s all I do. I know the market is big enough. I know the in and out of my product. So when I reach out to a prospect, I put myself in their shoes. I try to feel and understand their problem. I try to visualize how my product can help them solve their problem. I don’t force it. And if I am convinced that my product will really help I listen to them and honestly give my opinion. If not, I move onto the next prospect. This has worked 100% of the time. And even ultimately the customer does not immediately buy, I will still have made a friend as I really cared about their problem. And that’s always useful in the long run.
If you want to get a feel of my approach, ping me on Twitter( \@nutanc). But I must warn you, you may end up buying from me :)
