5 Tips To Be A Successful Salesman

There are many different types of sales that we must make in our life.  High schoolers may work their summer selling Cutco knives or a 40 year old may have a career out of selling suits at a retail store.  A recent college graduate has to sell himself to a company to get a new job or a college drop-out may have to sell his entrepreneurial idea to local businesses.  As a freshman in college, you may have to present yourself favorably to catch the eye of that perfect girl or, one day, in meeting her parents.  We have to sell ourselves to earn trust in friendships, relationships, and businesses. Knowing that sales are found in many different areas of life, we must be constantly aware of how to make sales.

I wanted to put a picture of a man, or voice I trust. Who better than Morgan Freeman?

1. Establish Trust: Nobody will purchase or believe anything that you say if they cannot trust you.  Establish yourself as a reliable person that can relate well with them.  Provide information about yourself, and know that any question that you ask, you must be able to answer as well.

2. Remember The Little Things: When you are meeting with a customer for a second sale or a boyfriend for a second date, prove that you listened the last time you were together.  Asking little things about their personal life, such as how their kids are, how their last test went, or how their job interview went will make them realize that you care about them.  Caring about your customer outside of the sales situation is vital to making them trust you more . . . leading to more sales.

3. Be Generous At First: While being generous is a trait that you always want to possess, you must be able to draw them in with an act that will make them appreciate you.  This could be something as simple as buying a girl a drink, providing a potential client with a free trial of your service (GoToMeeting),  or giving them a glimpse of your public relations campaign for them and how you can help them out.

4. Care About Your Product:  I know for a fact that I could not sell clothing from Old Navy or happily encourage others to go watch "The Notebook".  The reason you want to sell something to someone is because you like the product that you are selling.  Selling something without caring for it will come across as laziness or a lack of interest to the client, making them not buy into whatever you are selling.

5. Make Them See Their Benefit:  When selling something, the objective is to always fill a need of the consumer.  Make them see what they will get in accepting your offer.  Let them know that if they join your fraternity that they will always have a 60 strong friends.  Make it aware that if they purchase your laptop that it will provide great quality for them.  Prove to them that if they purchase your clothing that it will look good and last for a long time.  If it does not do them any good, they will not buy it.