Proverbs 22:29

Proverbs 22:29

"Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men."

Christian Based Selling:

Even the most natural sales talents among us need to master the craft of selling to produce consistent results.  The craft of selling is made up of two elements:

• The Science - a sales process 
• The Art - the ability to read people 

The are many books on the market that offer the science part of the equation.   Here a few  must reads to get you started:

• Spin Selling
• Solution Selling 
• The Greatest Salesman In The World

Learning a proven sales method will arm you with the knowledge you need to qualify and drive deals to close.   Mastering a sales process means you actually follow it!  Whenever I've not followed my sales process (because I had a sure thing) I've wound up kicking myself later!  Have a sales process and follow it!! 

The art aspect of the craft of selling is the ability to read people, commonly referred to as emotional intelligence.  The art directly impacts your ability to guide a prospect through the sales process in a trusted manner.  If you run a potential buyer through your qualification process with only self-serving interest (to find a deal), the prospect  will likely perceive personal risk in sharing too much information with you.   While you will walk away with a basic understanding of their problem you will most likely not know if this is a deal worth the investment of your time or the insights that will increase your chance to win.          

The quickest path to emotional intelligence is taking a close look at your motivation.  I believe the key to the art component of professional sales is the intent of your heart.  When you start putting the interests of your client before your own, then you actually get better at your job.  The intent of your heart is the key to leading a prospect through the qualification process in a way that will open a genuine and trusted conversation about what's really going on and your ability to help (or not).  When a prospective buyer can feel (emotional intelligence works both way) that your questions are driven by a good-hearted professional doing their job to determine if they can be of service, exciting things start happening in your meetings.     

What books have you found helpful in mastering the science of selling?