Sales is a career. Sales is an interesting and rewarding career, especially for commission sales people. Done properly good sales associate can be an invaluable resource for their clients and a trusted advisor. Sales people are not all created equal. How can you tell the difference?
I have had the great fortune to know some truly great sales people. What made them excel was their ability to provide great value for their customers and for their employer. Perhaps their most telling trait was their ability to combine selling skills and a strong sense of personal ethics for their customers. What follows is a short guide to help you know who to trust.
Commission sales people are paid to move product, of that there is no doubt. The best appreciate that that no one wants to be “sold” something that they don’t want. They know the best customer is a repeat customer; however, repeat customers will only come back if they trust their sales associate.
Honesty and Trust, two sides of the same coin. The only true way to gain a customers trust, is to do it over time, to prove what they tell a customer is true. A good sales associate will earn that trust by doing what they said they would do. They will not tell a customer that an entry level priced product is the best one for their customer if it is not, even if it means the customer won’t buy that day. Trust comes from allowing their customer to make an informed decision. Trust comes from explaining the pros and cons of something in an easy to understand way. Trust comes from explaining how what is being presented is the best available solution to what they are looking to buy based on what the customer has said. Trust comes from not over-promising, if something is going to be delayed, a trusted sales associate will tell you rather than getting your sale on paper and then breaking bad news to you after the fact.
Good Sales People Like People – If your sales person is good, they will make you feel like they enjoy talking to you. It is impossible to be a great sales person if you treat customers with contempt and the more you talk to a sales person this will become obvious. A good sales person will listen, they will explain what you don’t know, they will be patient, and they will answer the same question as many times as it takes for you to understand.
Listening – You will recognize a trustworthy sales associate as someone who listens to what you ask for and then matches your desires to at least three items, a good, a better, and a best value. A good sales person will tie down the features and benefits to what you explained that you wanted. Beware of the sales associate who seems to listen but then takes you to a product that doesn’t come close to what you said you wanted and they don’t explain why it is a good match to your needs.
Follow up – A trustworthy sales associate will keep you involved and updated with the progress of your purchase. Many commission sales associates are not paid until your purchase is delivered, so they have a stake in making sure that everything goes smoothly. Only good sales associates actually will follow up and call you before you have to call them.
A good sales person will give you their card and/or contact information and will even give you permission to call them when they are not working. They appreciate that your needs don’t always fall within their schedule.
A sale must be a real sale – A trustworthy sales associate and organization will have real sales. As a consumer, you should ask what the regular price is when something is on sale. The “save story” must be obvious and beware of retailers who seem to have constantly changing regular prices.
What is the truth? – A reputable sales organization will want you to be a repeat customer. They will value your business and they will not play games and risk your patronage. The easiest way to check this is to pick an item that they advertise and over a two or three-month period, watch and check the sale price of this item and what the regular price is. Reputable companies are consistent; companies to avoid will have different regular prices. Everything comes back to trust.
MSRP, Regular Price, Sale Price – MSRP or manufacturers suggested price can sometimes be confirmed by a simple check on-line comparison. When you can check, beware of retailers and sales associates who’s MSRP seems very high relative to everyone else. Good sales people may even help you to compare prices and will help you understand that you also have to compare what services are offered and what “terms” are included.
The hook – Every retailer has a “hook,” a reason for to close a sale today, they want you to buy from them, and this is not necessarily a bad thing. What does the sales associate offer you to close a sale today? Stock availability might be one of them, particularly during times of peak demand. Lead times can sometimes be measured in months and having something in stock is a legitimate reason to buy today. A special price is always a good reason to buy, and as we have said, it is easy enough to compare. Beware of high pressure tactics to get something on “paper,” avoid sales people who make you feel rushed.
Training – Trustworthy sales associates are always trying to improve. Good sales associates look and sound like they know what they are doing. Good sales people constantly try to improve their sales ability, they will practice their greeting, and they will work on how they ask you questions about what you are looking for, it has called qualifying. They should try to educate you on why their company deserves your business. They will attempt to demonstrate why their products or services will meet your desires and wants. When they have you agreeing with them, they will try to “close (the sale).” The final step is how they follow up on your sale and they make sure that if you have any problems, they answer all of them. If your sales associate does all six of these steps, you can have faith they have been trained well and will provide you and your family with a good experience. Beware of anyone who doesn’t.
Ethics of organization & Repeat Business – Read google reviews, what people have said? Beware of any company that doesn’t have a least a few people who weren’t happy. It is impossible to satisfy everyone and companies that don’t have a single negative review might have deleted them. Talk to your friends, organizations develop their reputations for serving people and solving their problems, use that as a guide.
YOU! – The ultimate test of whether you have a good sales associate or not is how you feel about the service and products you receive. To a great sales associate this will be important to them and you will be able to tell quite easily. They will return your calls promptly and in fact, you may never have to call them because they will call you first, whether to follow up or to give you advance notice of an upcoming sale.
I have known great sales people, poor sales people and every type in between. The great ones are easy to spot, they are genuinely interested in you and helping to solve whatever you are looking for, seek them out and ask for them. Avoid the tour guides, the ones who show you everything in the store without actually listening to what you want. Avoid the high-pressure people, and those seem only interested in selling you what they think you want. Look for the ones who make you feel at ease, who listen to you, who give you choices, and who answer your questions. They are the “keepers”.