Petra Asamoah, Managing Director of 3Fm has the following tips for aspiring salesmen:
1. Ability to ask great questions
You can’t assume you know what a customer wants. Ask, ask and ask some more questions.
1B. Listen – don’t spend all the time with a customer talking about your product, listen. Listen to what their needs. Listening actively is a skill – taking notes of important cues, body language etc.
2. Know your product – thoroughly
Know your competitor’s product too. My quote to remember this skill is: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
3. Charisma
Being personable and sociable is a skill you need to succeed in sales. Even if you’re an introvert, you need to develop the ability to meet, interact and engage people. Be nice!
4. Presentation skills
Communicating clearly and without ambiguity. Presentation jitters can get you but they can be managed.
5. Bounce-back-ability
You’d get several “no-s’. You have to be able to bounce back and get along. This skill is easier described as persistence.
Happy selling!
This post was first published on Quest, a Q&A forum for Ghana’s business community
Credit: Servled
