There are thousands of books and seminars on how to succeed. What many don't make explicit is the requirement to be a great salesperson - even if you're 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. Here's a list of some of the things that annoy your customers:

+ Spread himself out in my living room
+ Used the toilet and didn't lift the lid
+ Had smelly breath/ body odour
+ ried to pressure me
+ Didn't listen to me
+ When I said it wasn't 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
+ Didn't 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 didn't 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 don't do any of these!

ALL SUCCESS WITH YOUR SELLING!

Bill is managing director of Brilliant Web Workshops and is committed to discovering, demystifying, distilling and disseminating practical knowledge to help people do even better.He is putting most of his workshops online so people can do them anywhere, anytime.http://www.brilliantwebworkshops.com

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