salespeople

There’s always the right salesperson for the right customer. Some customers need a salesperson with the gift of gab, some want a woman some want a man, others prefer one that’s assertive. But there’s always that one that makes you as a customer either feel confident and comfortable with a decision and one that makes you feel like you’ve got a gun pointed at your head the entire time. I disagree with our textbook, that effective sales leaders need to possess the seven key traits. It seems to me that it depends on the customer. A good salesperson is one that can read a customer right away. If the customer is laid back and taking their time, that’s most likely what they prefer out of a salesperson. If a couple comes in laughing hysterically and is generally loud speaking, they probably prefer a very sociable salesperson. One of the biggest mistakes a salesperson can do is be lacking in product knowledge. Whether a customer knows the specs of a product or not, the salesperson should always be there to support the decision with facts. The first time the customer knows more about the product than the salesperson, that customer should walk away and find someone who knows. If a customer can’t rely on the salesperson to guide them in the right direction and answer all their questions, who can they rely on? It all should depend on the customer; if the customer chooses to let the salesperson be in control that's their choice to make, the salesperson shouldn't make that choice for them.

Comments

[JeffLaw]

Great post.
I feel the same way about a sales person that has to go and ask another person to get you an answer on a basic product question.
I have several friends that are sales people and they have told me in the past that knowing your own product is first and formost. If you know the product the skills of reading people and knowing when to push or back off will come, but if you cannot answer the basic questions about your product it does not matter how polished you are you will probably not get the sale.