8 Important Communication Skills in Sales

1. 8 Important Communication Skills in Sales In business, it’s very obvious that sales aren’t possible until and unless you make an effort to value the prospect, understand his problems and devise a well-thought strategy to give them solutions. You need to let your prospects speak out their issues & that’s when you make a play. Bottom line is, you need to connect with your prospects at the right time. Hence, let’s talk about some of the most important communication skills that will help you in selling. Active Listening There is a difference between listening and hearing. And in business communication, you need to be a careful listener. Anything less than that may result in disappointment. In most of the case, sales reps always have a fixed mugged up way of selling their product/service in a hurried manner. That’s a BIG NO, dear friends. You need to actively listen to your customers’ problems and the points they are presenting to you. Analyze that during the conversation, understand and note down your prospects problems. Trust me, everyone likes some attention. And we feel good when people listen to us.

2. The Tone of Your Voice Voice tone plays a very important part in communication & includes your voice pitch, volume, speed, empathy, choosing the right words or even your pronunciation. Listen to your customers, observe how they speak. Talk slow if the customer’s going slow, try to talk faster if he or she looks to be in a hurry. Above all, always be humble & accommodating. Understand What’s not being Said There will be instances where the prospect may not tell you the truth. He might be busy, or his attention diverted. Try to read between the lines. Is the prospect a decision maker? Or you’re just one amongst the multiple options he is going to present to his manager? Getting better at this will really save you lots of time & increase your chances of hitting a deal. Be a Subject Matter Expert This is pretty much self-explanatory. Considering how well-informed the customers have become, you cannot afford to not have in-depth knowledge of the industry you’re in.It’s absolutely necessary to know the latest industry trends, buying patterns & behavior. If you’re selling something, try to always have the upper hand when it comes to knowledge. Because you’ll hardly buy something from a person who you think doesn’t know much. Be Curious & Let People Notice A little show of curiosity goes a long way in impressing someone. When you’re selling something, show that you’re curious & eager to know more about his requirements & problems (if any). It’s proven that great conversationalists are naturally curious about their counterparts & that’s something really essential in sales. Ask questions, make them feel that you care for their problems and want to help them. Avoid Making Assumptions No matter how experienced you are, or how well versed you are with a sales process… there’s always a possibility of your next prospect being completely different from the hundreds you’ve encountered before. He may well ask you something that takes you by surprise. Hence, stay alert. Never make assumptions.

3. Be Persistent, not Pestering There’s a fine line between persistence & pestering. Make sure you differentiate this very well. Continuous calling & emailing without knowing why your prospect isn’t responding can be counter-productive. It may annoy them to an extent of never looking back at you. Instead, try following up with a different note & a different subject line. Try to offer some well- sounding solutions that will bring back the interest. Try to Learn. Always! No matter what you’re doing in life, never act like you know it all. There’ll always be another person who knows something that’s new to you. People appreciate when someone accepts his own lacuna. What’s important here is to keep the hunger alive & getting better every single day. Learning never stops If you’re into sales & looking for a smart CRM application to make things easier for you… try Wakeupsales CRM. It’s the #1 CRM of the Year by Accurate Reviews. Did I miss anything on sales communication? Share your opinions below. I’d love to read them all.