What Makes A Great Salesperson?

Meet Jim. Jim is an ordinary salesperson about to make a sales call to a new prospect. Jim, like most ordinary salespeople, starts the conversation by asking one of the following questions of his newly found prospect:

Who are you currently using as a supplier for XYZ product, and how much are you paying for it?

Can I give you a quote on that?

If I can meet or beat your price, will you buy from me?

By asking these questions, Jim has put himself in the category of just another salesperson. Why? Because he is doing what ordinary sales people do. They sell on price. All of the above questions have told his prospect that Jim wants to know how much he is currently paying, with the assumption that he will beat the price. He has stripped away any possible value he can bring to the table, and set himself up to sell on one thing - his low price!

Like Jim, ordinary salespeople work by first selling price, then their product or service, then themselves, and finally their company.

So, how do great salespeople sell? Well, a great salesperson never sells on price. Price is the last thing a great salesperson talks about. First of all, a great salesperson will sell themselves, and the value they bring to the table. Secondly, they will sell the value of their company. Then they will properly position the value of their product or service, and, once their is extraordinary value created in the eyes of the customer, they will present the price.

By this time, the value of the product or service is so great, that when the price is announced, the prospect will not think twice about the price.

So, to become a great salesperson, remember the order that you need to sell in:

Sell yourself, then your company, then your product or service, and finally, present the price.

Happy selling!