It never ceases to amaze me how many salespeople I run into in the course of my own purchasing who do not have solid, confident answers to core questions about their products and services. A car salesperson may not have crisp, clean answers about lease terms. Or a real estate agent may not be able to quote comps from the neighborhood.
Whatever the case, I can only assume one of two dynamics is in play:
- The salesperson’s company is not investing enough in training . . . the salespeople are not receiving the information needed or they are not being trained on how important it is to be completely prepared.
- The salesperson’s heart is not in the job . . . he/she is not taking preparation to the levels highly-Driven, and successful, salespeople take their preparation.
The best way for a salesperson to learn about the real standard for knowledge and preparation is to see it live, either in the form of case study training, or even better, working closely with a successful mentor who demonstrates the supreme confidence and success that comes from a deep and rich knowledge of the subject matter.
Young salespeople need to be taught to study, hard, in their non-selling hours.
At the end of the day, no sales technique in the world can replace the impact that knowledge and confidence has on a buyer’s impression of the product/service and the salesperson himself.
I’m reading your post since 2-3 years and you are completetly right, once again. In high strategic account I’m dealing with, your equation is so true. Knowledge = Confidence = Sales
You can complete another one : Listening = Innovation = Sales
=)