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Saturday, April 7, 2007

The Psychology behind Being a Successful Salesman


The field of psychology has something to contribute to a salesman's understanding of the selling process. When a salesman accepts the idea that selling is a process, he has started on the right path. He then rejects the idea that selling is a single act, a stroke of luck, the outsmarting of a prospect, or similar spurious concepts. Moreover, he does not expect miracles overnight. He knows that he must patiently build a foundation of confidence with every prospect and that future sales will rest on that foundation.

While selling seems to be primarily an art, it still has certain aspects of a science. As an art, it requires patient practice and the use of correct methods. As a science, it requires the mastery of certain fundamentals that are prerequisites for success.

Since selling is a human relations activity and no one so far has succeeded in reducing human relations to pat formulas, it is worthwhile to give consideration to some of the underlying fundamentals. The following are applicable to most selling situations:

1) The salesman must understand what basic needs are satisfied by his product or service.

2) He must be able to identify prospects who have those needs.

3) The prospect must recognize, or be made to recognize, his own needs.

4) The prospect must become convinced that the product or service will yield full or partial satisfaction of his needs.

5) The salesman must give the prospect opportunity to accept the product or service.

Attitudes are mental. They can be good or bad. Prospects develop attitudes, and a salesman should learn to look for them. A prospect who is intolerant of race, religion, or political leanings has attitudes which can affect a sale. The task of a salesman faced with such negative attitudes is not to oppose them, but rather to establish new and pleasant attitudes toward himself as an individual even though he might be of the "wrong" race, religion, or political persuasion.

The salesman should think of his job as permanent, his company as important, its policies as correct, and his superiors as wanting to be helpful. He should genuinely believe that the product or service he is offering yields a benefit to his customers, and that it is salable. He should also enjoy talking to his customers and prospects, discussing their problems, and being of help to them. He should have faith in himself.

No employer can create attitudes for a salesman; however, he can create a favorable climate in which the salesman develops his own abilities. Many salesmen get soured on some job aspect, and this affects their production. Hence, a salesman should be encouraged constantly to keep weeding out of his mind the little doubts, suspicions, resentments, fears, and criticisms which can fetter his success.

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