There are thousands of books and seminars on how to succeed. What many dont make explicit is the requirement to be a great salesperson even if youre selling an idea!

Here are the ten simple but powerful rules that will guide you in all your selling decisions.

* Helping. Get into the mindset of respecting and helping the customer. The hard sell today does not work.

* Knowledge. Know your product/service, customer and industry inside out be able to answer almost any question.

* Benefits. Think of how each of the features of your product/service can benefit the customer and always mention that first right at the beginning.

* Presentable. Be neat, presentable and clean and that includes smelling good too. Dress as the audience expects.

* Rehearse. Practice your presentation over and over gain. Use audio and video tape, do it in front of the mirror and ask friends and colleagues to offer suggestions. Do not underestimate this.

* The 70 30 rule. Listen more than you talk ask questions find out customers concerns so you can ease them away.

* Enthusiasm. Show enthusiasm, energy, friendliness and professionalism and show confidence in the product/service. Mention nothing negative even if the weather is lousy.

* Easy. Make it easy to handle, try, test the goods or services and then make it so easy to buy.

* Boldness. Ask for the business.

* Friendly. People buy from people. Never argue or make the customer look silly. Heres a list of some of the things that annoy your customers:

+ Spread himself out in my living room
+ Used the toilet and didnt lift the lid
+ Had smelly breath/ body odour
+ ried to pressure me
+ Didnt listen to me
+ When I said it wasnt for me she insisted
+ Tried to convince me I was wrong
+ Talked down to me as if I was stupid or inferior
+ Hinted that I was stupid for not seeing the value of what he was offering me
+ Avoided answering my questions
+ Kept saying bad tings about other companies
+ Went over to my bookcase and took down a book and made some comment
+ Kept talking about his children
+ Didnt have an order form needed to progress the sale
+ Was too smarmy kept using my name all the time as a sales technique
+ Spoke too quickly and didnt give me much time in the car felt we had to hurry
+ Made me feel I was bothering him that I was interrupting him

Of course you dont do any of these!

ALL SUCCESS WITH YOUR SELLING!

Bill Robb

Bill helps people and organisations excell. He helps solve those difficult people-problems where projects are about to fail because people are not communicating. "Why do we humans complicate things - all powerful solutions are very simple - we just need the courage to do them". Organisational problems can be solved with better communication. When you want a team to improve ask them for five thjings that are hindering them. See if your training provider can deliever a workshop with NO - YES NO overhead/powerpoint slides. If they can do this they know their stuff in a very practical way. Rememeber that people know WHAT. They want help with how to do what they know they should be doing.

Bill is a Glaswegian brought up in Rhodesia and South Africa and now lives in Aberdeen, Scotland.