Peady’s Selling Engagement
How You Sell Does Matter!
Your selling style, or how you connect with a customer, more than anything else, determines sales outcomes. Your actions will impact, lead and influence the customer’s actions (and reactions).
And if you ask someone to define their sales-style they tend to focus on their approach rather than the substance of their style. Knowing what kind of sales-style you follow can provide insight into your strengths, improvement areas, and how to grow and adapt by using other styles.
Welcome to this week’s post on sales and selling success.
Ari Galper had this to say: “If the client doesn’t buy how you sell, the client isn’t going to buy what you sell. Once clients realise that you operate differently, they will open up, share important information about their situation and explore options with you. If you can solve their problems, clients will initiate the buying process. How you sell makes a difference!”
5 Selling techniques
Apart from the ‘how’ there are also a number of techniques you can use as part of your sales-style toolbox. I found this great blog that nails the good and bad of the subject “The Five Best Sales Techniques… And Five of the Least Effective Ideas for How to Sell”
Hunters and farmers?
And that brings me to another interesting area of sales-styles (or as someone called them sales personas) where salespeople tend to fall into one of two main categories – Hunters or Farmers (or Finders and Minders)
- “Hunters” thrive on seeking out new opportunities, opening new doors, and looking for the next opportunity. Their eyes and minds are always on the horizon looking for the next kill. They’re good people to have when the sales funnel is empty.
- “Farmers” thrive on nurturing and maintaining accounts. Once given a sales lead, they spring into action, make contacts, burrow their way into the account, and work it. “Farmers” are at their best when times are good, and the sales ground is fertile.
And then there those select and rare salespeople called ‘rainmakers’. They combine connecting skills with relationship building skills. ‘Rainmakers’ have a web of relationships that are strategically built with consideration given to the ROI on time and effort.
‘Rainmakers’ relationships include current customers, past or lapsed customers, desired customers and industry influencers. Plus, the peers within their own company and across complementary firms in the marketplace. Each relationship is at least “business personal’.
So, which one are you? Hunter or Farmer? A Rainmaker?
Finally, a thought for the sales managers
When it comes to your talent management strategy, selling styles alone come with a big caveat; a person can like doing something but not be good at it. Liking an activity does not always equate to skill at doing that activity.
In a nutshell, selling styles can help you attract and motivate certain types of sellers, but talent decisions based on style alone can backfire. So, don’t stop at styles. You need to formally evaluate strengths and selling skills too.
Until next week, good selling!
About the author
Stephen Pead is a media industry veteran of 30 years with significant experience in direct sales, sales management and general management. He is based in Sydney and specialises in helping SME’s market their businesses more effectively and providing training for salespeople and sales managers.
He can be contacted at [email protected]
