Ten Tips to Standing Out From the Competition in Sales

In order to stay competitive and profitable, many companies are unable to offer customers a price that’s significantly lower than their competition or value that’s significantly higher. Often only its salespeople can make a company stand out from a multitude of other businesses that offer similar products as similar prices. To set your company apart from its competitors, follow these guidelines for polishing your selling skills from communication to closing.

1. Know your customers’ different behavioral styles and how to sell to each.
   Make notes on your customers – their behavioral types, service or product preferences, and the features or benefits that are most important to them.  Think about ways to tailor your approach to suit each customer you have in order to help prepare you for prospects you’ve never met.
2. Know your products, programs and solutions.
   There’s really no excuse for not being an authority on your company and its products and services.  Your degree of product knowledge has a profound impact on the competence you convey to prospects and customers.  Keep up with current company literature, meetings and events to stay informed.
3. Know which benefits your customers can use most.
   Tally up the features or benefits your customers appreciate most and use the information to help you sell your prospects and make improvements or enhancements to your product or service.
4. Know your competition’s strengths and weaknesses.
   Ask your customers what they like and dislike about your competition, and conduct your own research to find out what they might have that your company does not.  You have to know how strong your competition is if you expect to be stronger.
5. Set specific goals.
   Goals give your work a renewed sense of purpose and help keep you motivated and productive.  Stick to a written action plan, and think about what you can do on a daily basis to help you complete it.
6. Budget your time.
   Make a daily-prioritized list of tasks.  Be aware of little time wasters – extended phone conversations, long lunches, disorganization – that add up to many lost hours each week.  Set a time frame to complete products, and keep your thoughts and your work organized.
7. Deal with resistance effectively.
   Persistence is key to selling success.  Remember that the rejection you experience on the job isn’t personal.  Difficult-to-sell prospects teach you how to overcome objections and sell more successfully, so welcome resistance as a valuable learning experience.
8. Understand the value of customer service.
   If you’re looking for the shortest route to success, go above and beyond the call of duty.  Happy customers are almost invariably repeat customers, so spare no effort to see that you meet their wants and needs promptly.
9. Maintain a positive mental attitude.
   View problems and setbacks as opportunities.  Use motivational materials to help you develop a positive and productive outlook and maintain a healthy balance of work and leisure time.
10. Know yourself.
    Monitor your performance carefully to identify your weaknesses and get the help you need to improve on them.  Even the best salespeople never stop learning or improving.  Your level and range of skill largely determine your sales success.  Take stock of your own abilities and make improvements wherever you need them.  A company’s performance reflects its salespeople’s current knowledge and ability – and their willingness to improve and build on past successes.  Your knowledge, competence and honesty will help your company stand out from the competition while you rake in the sales.