Sales representative
What are some techniques which you should learn to become a good sales? #sales
39 answers
Jorge’s Answer
Hi Janna!
Good question. Learn how to sell is very important thing in your life. This is a knowledge that you take with you in your entire life, regardless of the industry you work. It's for your life.
If you learn early how to sell, you will be in advantage over your competitors in the job market.
Some techniques that will help you:
Believe in the product you're selling;
Learn all about the product you're selling;
Think in advance the objections that can happen during the sale time;
Listen carefully to what your customer has to say;
Look into the eyes of your client while speaking;
Learn techniques for public speaking;
These are the most important techniques in my opinion.
Greetings from Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Anne-Maree’s Answer
Sales is a passion and some of the best are very transparent with clients and also humble. Be curious. Take the time to understand your client's business, and the industry. Some of the best advise comes from people like John Barrows https://jbarrows.com/, and Gary Vaynerchuk https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/. Avoid being brash and taking too much about yourself, product and why they should buy from you. Take the time in your meetings to ask questions on what you can do to assist with their challenges and make them successful .
In your prospecting messages customize it to the individual, and before sending it look at their profile on LinkedIn or Twitter to assist you in crafting your message.
Finally, storytelling goes along way.Get to know your product solution well, and then use story telling to position that when you are pitching. Check out www.duarte.com/

Scott’s Answer
Great question!
Some techniques to learn are
active listening skills
asking open ended questions
make sure you have a keen interest in the customer and what you are selling
educate customers on how they benefit from your solution
And....... Practice Practice Practice
Sales is skill so practicing helps you treat it like a process and get better at it every day
Good luck!
Robert’s Answer
My biggest thing is learning the product that you are selling and how to relate it to your customer. Connect with your customer and gain trust. Last but not least use the power of asking.
Robert recommends the following next steps:
Joe’s Answer
- Patience
- Active listening
- Empathy
- Attention to detail
- Speed
- Having an ability to ask tough questions
- Confidence
- Persistence
- Consistency
Rich’s Answer
Alexandria’s Answer
That's a great question!
I would say become a very active listener. Sales really is 80% listening and 20% speaking. Listen to your customers needs and be passionate about what you are selling. Be confident in yourself always. Be human, sales is also about trust. Listen to your customer and you can match what your selling to their needs.
Good luck!
Amanda’s Answer
I've read through the answers given above and there are some really great answers to how to win the sale, but don't ever forget that once you have a customer, sometimes the hardest thing to do is retain the customer, I call this, after care.
I often send my customers a hand written card, (harder during covid to do this, as we are mostly working from home, but I'll send it to their office, as there's no timeline for gratitude), thank them for their business, add in a personal touch from some of the things learned through conversation.
Follow up with the customer, perhaps a few weeks after, to see how they're liking the product.
In sales, I find that problems are not always problems, as it gives you an opportunity to re-engage, and have continuous conversations, where you can save the day, and win ally within the company, and get repeat business, or leads (recommendations) for other potential groups or contacts for the future.
Hope this helps, and good hunting!!!
Jon’s Answer
Great question, but there really isn't a perfect answer. Every sales person is a little different. The first step is to trust in the product or service that you are selling. Once you trust in your product you will have the ability to gain the trust of your customers. The best sales people are folks that can listen well and convey confidence and truthfulness to their customers. Listening is a big part of sales. If you can ask the right questions and sit back and listen, then formulate an answer to solve your customers problems or pain points then you will be successful.
Alana’s Answer
Sales can be a great career. The skills that make you successful in sales will also make you successful in other parts of business. Active listening skills, asking open ended questions, and understanding the the needs of the customer and/or the customer's business are critical skills. Doing so, will help you become a trusted advisor. A healthy amount of a competitive spirit and strong work ethic will also help. Best of luck to you.
Kopavi’s Answer
Learn how to connect with people. People buy from people they have things in common with and can connect on a personal level. Unless you can show genuine interest in the people you are selling to it can be a difficult thing to do. Through understanding who the person is you can relate the real benefits to them on what you are selling and provide the right solution to them. Know your product or products! You will lose the trust from your customer if they don't believe what you are talking about. Overcome objections with clarifying what the objection is, don't just take no, understand why no so you can specifically overcome the real objection. Ask for the sale! Never let a no or a failed sale affect your next sales opportunity, you will fail often but the more consistent you are and the more positive you stay the better you will do.
Joel’s Answer
Suggested reading, I would start with "The Challenger Sale" Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson. For me personally, I've worked for two organizations that made transformation software. What does that mean? It means I went to large organizations and spoke to them regarding their business and what it means to become more agile as a business. Yes, very high level statement however it involved:
- several meetings to discover how an organization conducted their business
- several meetings to discuss the "art of the possible"
- on many occasions I would tell the client in a very subtle way: "this is how you should do it"
This is not achieved overnight and your skills around active listening, asking open-ended questions and uncovering information need to be sharp. Being the consultant takes some skill development however can be a very rewarding experience

Stéphane Decque
Stéphane’s Answer
Hi
You have a lot of advices above. I would add that the best thing is to start from the beginning. What does it mean ?
Begin as a sales guy selling simple products in stores this is a hard job as people are not often interested in your products. So you have to be good in what you do. With the experience you will improve your skills and your approach. Experience in king in sales so do not hesitate to multiply experiences. And believe in yourself, in your are confident that you like SALES domain do not hear the bad advices. When I was young, a guy told me I will be a bad sales guy as I was too shy. 30 years later I feel really comfortable in my life, in my job selling products. I am very happy about my choice so listen to your heart if you feel this is your way for the future...
Erin’s Answer
Karen A.’s Answer
Chris’s Answer
There are so many sales techniques out there. I challenge you to take a step further to try and identify the sales techniques that really fit you the best. So, before you start really trying to nail down techniques that may or may not work well for you dig into some good books. There is a plethora of great books that you can read on the subject and what you really want to do is find those books that seem to resonate with you. The ones that you feel work well with your personality and your outlook on how sales should be performed. Then you can start to formulate the techniques that will make you the most successful.
Here's a few books to start with that will give you a good introduction to sales. I would start with the 25 habits of highly successful salespeople by Stephen Schiffman. What I like most about this book is that it will introduce you to successful habits you will need, and you can start to analyze which one really works best for you. It also talks quite a bit about the sales journey from beginning to end so it gives you a good overall view of the sales process.
The next book I'd recommend is and old school book by zig Ziglar. He's a legend in the industry and he has a unique perspective on sales. The book is Secrets of Closing the Sale. What makes this book unique is that it is a very clever approach to closing sales without being overbearing or too pushy. So that might fit well with your personality.
The last book I'll recommend is The Sales Bible: The Ultimate Sales Resource by Jeffrey Gitomer. This book is excellent for beginners. It focuses on conversational techniques and how to turn prospects into clients. So, make sure to look at this book as well.
Good luck in your career in sales Janna. I think these books will give you a good foundation and help you develop the types of traits that will make you successful.
Casey’s Answer
The most important skill is listening and asking questions (discovery/qualifying). Learn to ask open ended question.
Know your product/solution and be a consultant - not everyone is a fit by the way - which is fine! Tell them they aren't a fit but you'd welcome speaking to them again when/if they are. They will respect that.
Once you have determined they are a good prospect - teach and tailor. These are presentation skills. The more you get in front of people, the better you will get. Practice! Give them valuable insight they don't already have, give them examples of other customers achieving success aligning to their goals, and tailor your presentation to the prospect (business/technical), etc. Most successful salespeople can pivot their approach on the fly to match the prospects desired goal/outcome.
Ask for the business (closing). I cannot tell you how many people are uncomfortable doing this. This skill is imperative to making a living. If the answer is no, ask why and if you can address that, would they be open to doing business. Getting a quick "no" is must better than coming in 2nd after a long campaign.
Tell them thank you and keep in touch. They are buying from you, the skill of nurturing and building your network will serve you long after the sale is final. Good luck...sales is a very rewarding career!