Seven Powerful Exercises to Improve Your Sales Skills
You may be familiar with the old saying, “to fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.” And it’s true! No matter what it is you do, you need to practice to improve. So, how and what should you work on to become a better salesperson? The following article provides helpful suggestions and exercises based off of Dave Kurlan’s best-selling book, “Baseline Selling.”
First, be sure to practice and perfect your Positioning Statements. The positioning statement is the preliminary introduction you provide to your brand new prospect. This is ideally a phone conversation in which you convey exactly what you do and who you do it for. This intro should be cleverly executed in a way that gets your prospect thinking “that’s me.”
Second, you should work on your Cycle Statements. These statements are used to turn around and engage those prospects who claim they aren’t interested or “are all set.” When used correctly, cycle statements can open seemingly closed doors, providing you with far more opportunities than ever before. Learn more about proper cycle statements in the section on getting to first base in Kurlan’s book, Baseline Selling.
Next, one of the most important obstacles you must overcome are your Self Limiting Beliefs. Your own mind can sabotage you and you might not even know it! It takes confidence, persistence, and strategic thinking to be a successful salesperson. Kurlan’s book, Baseline Selling provides you with exercises to reprogram your beliefs so they support you instead of sabotage you.
Next is a very crucial milestone in your sales process. You’ll definitely want to work on your Consultative Selling so you can uncover the compelling reasons your prospects should buy from you. Identifying exactly what the client wants or needs is a pivotal step to the selling puzzle. Additionally, the consultative approach is also important in establishing an open and trustworthy relationship with your buyer. Refer to Kurlan’s section on getting to 2nd base to learn more about improving your consultative selling technique.
Finally, you’ll want to master your ability to be comfortable talking about money. Studies show that this is a weakness for many salespeople. Discussing money without firm confidence can hinder your conversations and relationships with prospects and prevent you from closing sales. Dave Kurlan’s book offers helpful exercises on this milestone as well.
Material inspired by Dave Kurlan of Objective Management Group.
First, be sure to practice and perfect your Positioning Statements. The positioning statement is the preliminary introduction you provide to your brand new prospect. This is ideally a phone conversation in which you convey exactly what you do and who you do it for. This intro should be cleverly executed in a way that gets your prospect thinking “that’s me.”
Second, you should work on your Cycle Statements. These statements are used to turn around and engage those prospects who claim they aren’t interested or “are all set.” When used correctly, cycle statements can open seemingly closed doors, providing you with far more opportunities than ever before. Learn more about proper cycle statements in the section on getting to first base in Kurlan’s book, Baseline Selling.
Next, one of the most important obstacles you must overcome are your Self Limiting Beliefs. Your own mind can sabotage you and you might not even know it! It takes confidence, persistence, and strategic thinking to be a successful salesperson. Kurlan’s book, Baseline Selling provides you with exercises to reprogram your beliefs so they support you instead of sabotage you.
Next is a very crucial milestone in your sales process. You’ll definitely want to work on your Consultative Selling so you can uncover the compelling reasons your prospects should buy from you. Identifying exactly what the client wants or needs is a pivotal step to the selling puzzle. Additionally, the consultative approach is also important in establishing an open and trustworthy relationship with your buyer. Refer to Kurlan’s section on getting to 2nd base to learn more about improving your consultative selling technique.
Finally, you’ll want to master your ability to be comfortable talking about money. Studies show that this is a weakness for many salespeople. Discussing money without firm confidence can hinder your conversations and relationships with prospects and prevent you from closing sales. Dave Kurlan’s book offers helpful exercises on this milestone as well.
Material inspired by Dave Kurlan of Objective Management Group.