In today’s economy, more than ever, sales professionals must be in control of the sales process. You will not succeed in our ever changing economy, if you do not fully grasp the enhanced sales process.

Do you follow a sales process?

Congratulations if you answer “yes” and actually commit to a sales process. Evidently, you are responsive to the power of practicing a proven results oriented sales process. If you answer no, please examine the following benefits of an exceptional sales process and adapt them as your daily discipline.

Nearly all sales professionals deem themselves in control of the sales process. Conversely, it is the prospect that possesses full control. The sales person falsely assumes he/she controls the sales process. However, buyers have created a buyers process of their own which they abide by repeatedly.

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Goal setting should not only be associated with New Year’s Resolutions but with your overall life desires for 2012 and beyond.

Goal setting is the foundation to self motivation and is applicable at all times.

Consequently, our awareness of today’s economy gives us a new perspective on goal setting.

Sales people must have a far more realistic approach and be steadfast in their determination and discipline.

Primarily, you need to identify the desires and dreams you want to become a reality in 2012 and beyond. Begin by taking some time to write or draw them out as clearly as possible. This is the first, and most important step of goal setting to fulfill those desires and dreams.

Did you know that only about 3% – 5% of the population write down or create pictures of their goals???

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One of the greatest learning’s I discovered working in sales was how we were always setting sales targets and objectives, and being measured against them.

This is a good practice and keeps us focus on our sales targets.

So why not apply those same goal setting and monitoring strategies on our personal lives so that we too can stay focused on our dreams and end up where we want to be.

Today, in most organizations, management devotes enormous energy to setting work objectives and conducting performance reviews for individual employees.

Corporations go through this time-consuming and costly exercise to ensure the most favorable results for their firm.

In professions such as sales, considerable time is spent questioning, listening, discovering and understanding the needs of clients in order to provide a recommended solution or action plan.

In contrast, how much time and energy do you expend discovering your own needs and desires, and then consciously setting objectives, developing action plans with measurable performance standards, and finally reviewing your own performance?

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In traditional sales, selling is telling and that requires a lot of talking. Talking is not a selling skill. It is a waste of time and the most common complaint toward sales people.

What are good selling skills? The opposite of telling is asking, the opposite of talking is listening and the opposite of selling is buying. These are definitive selling skills.

Buyers no longer have a desire to be sold. They want to be understood, engaged and empowered to buy. These are great selling skills!

Buyers will buy from someone who demonstrates admirable selling skills. They want someone who truly listens and genuinely cares.

Someone they can trust and who reminds them of themselves. These are the focal selling skills required in today‘s new economy of buyers.

An engaging conversation and a considerate attitude are top notch selling skills. One, who asks questions, listens empathetically and acknowledges customer concerns harbors sturdy selling skills. A number one selling skill is trust. Trust is gained by being buyer focused and building rapport with the buyer, creating a mutually ratifying relationship. These are highly beneficial selling skills for today’s new economy of buyers.

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