Image source: http://whoschrishughes.com/the-pursuit-of-happyness-life-lessons/
Resiliency;
The
ability to bounce back no matter what is thrown at you.
In sales, you will see a lot of rejection, a lot of no’s and a lot of
ignorance. However, this is not something that should keep you down. If we look
at the struggles Chris Gardner (The pursuit of Happyness) faced when trying to
get his foot in the door at a brokerage, many would have given up. He
persevered and in the end earned his place, through hard work and the ability
to be resilient to the competition and downfalls he faced.
Personality
(building relationships): Connect with your consumers on a personal
level. When selling to a client you need to be smart. Instead of just
throwing your product or sales pitch to them, go the extra mile to see what
kind of person they are, build a relationship with them. This will not only
make them more likely to trust you and be loyal to you, but also give you a
idea on this persons likes, hates, needs ect. By creating a relationship with
the client/consumer first you are essentially creating an easier sale. Chris
Gardner created personal relationships by attending a football match with a
potential client and going to his house to apologise for missing a meeting they
had arranged. Although this did not secure a sale with the client, the contacts
he made through that move were well worth it. Chris also created a great all
round reputation for himself.
Confidence:
Be
confident and sure of what you are selling before you attempt to sell it. If
you are not sure of what you are selling how can you expect to convince someone
else of its worth? If you don’t know your products benefits and uses how are
you going to sell it to the consumer? There’s no use in being resilient and
building a relationship with your client if you are not confident in your
product or not familiar with what you are selling. The details in the sell are
what will ideally secure it. Chris spent hours upon hours learning the business
he was selling, needless to say to those of you who know the story well, it
really paid off!
Drive/determination:
Make sure sales is something you enjoy.
Before entering the competitive world of sales, make sure it will be something
you will want to do. If you have no drive or determination in your work, then
you will fail, the more you fail, the less you’ll enjoy it. It’s the same with
any job, except sales is not a job that you can sail through doing the bare
minimum. Sales comes with KPI’s and constant targets. If you don’t have the
drive and determination to hit those targets, then you won’t succeed. Looking
back at Chris Gardner again, his KPI’s were high, the work load was extreme and
the environment very stressful. He did not just need the job he wanted it,
which is why he put the extra effort in to hit the targets, securing the job
and becoming successful.
Chris Gardner Interview scene:
Trustworthy:
Make sure you build a reputation of being
honest and trustworthy. Making a sale is one thing, creating a loyal client
is another. Creating a loyal client generally leads to more sales. If you lose
the trust of a consumer, than you initially lose a string of sales, the only
thing you’ll gain is a bad reputation. Chris Gardner created great trust with
his consumers/clients by sticking to everything he had promised, keeping them
updated and following up on all contact they have. He was also extremely polite
which makes it easier to contact people in the future.
Video source: YouTube
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