Finding Your Sales Style

If there is one thing most new business owners are scared of, it is the prospect of selling. You hear it over and over – the phrase ‘I’m not a sales person.’ The truth is, we are all sales people. The only difference is that we do not all have the same sales style.

If trying to sell the way you have always been told you should feels a bit like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, then you are not alone. Many people find that their sales style does not fit the traditional stereotype of the sales person, and they give up. Let us take a closer look at some selling style options though, so that you can find one that suits your personality.

The first sales style is the one we all know. The quintessential thick skinned sales rep, who doesn’t take no for an answer, and who would try to sell their product to everyone who gives them the time of day, whether it’s their grandmother, or their child’s nursery school teacher.

The truth is, that type of sales works for very few people, and there aren’t’ many of us that have the combination of tenacity and single mindedness to pull it off. Most of us feel a little uncomfortable with the hint of the obnoxious that this sales style requires, and it is one of the reasons so many people think they cannot sell.

Another style of sales that relies on tenacity, but less on the ‘hard sell’ approach, is the humble but loyal approach. This type of sales person is less about flashy cars, bad jokes and loud conversations, and more about consistency. People with this sales style will follow up a lead for weeks or months, remaining calm and unruffled no matter what, and they are always polite. While they are less ‘in your face’ than the traditional sales person, their approach is not all that much different, and they usually get the same results, without the drama.

The next type of sales people are those that focus on the facts about their products or services, and are passionate enough to know every detail about the item they are selling. They are usually intrigued by the technology, and it is often their own passion for what they are selling that gets their customers excited. Because this sales style is driven by passion and ideas, these types of sales people also tend to be willing to put in long hours, and are always coming up with new and innovative marketing strategies.

Then there are the people whose sales style is all about aspiration. They sell their products or services based on the aspiration of their clients. Their clients want to look like them, live like them, and be like them, so they are willing to part with their hard-earned cash to achieve that.

Even if your sales style is somewhere in between these typical styles, that is okay. It’s okay to be tenacious AND fact driven, just as it’s okay to be presentation oriented, and sell on aspiration, and a born closer.

If you visit any sales course, you are likely to be told that there is one way to sell. Do not believe that. There is an average, which works for most people, but there are also people who are below and above any average. Changing the ‘traditional’ sales style to suit your personality is perfectly acceptable, and since people don’t buy from companies, they buy from people, it’s more important that your personality shines through when you sell than that you follow the traditional sales mantra that everyone tries to push on you.

Finding your sales style has plenty of benefits, the most important of which is that you will be more confident. Confidence is a visible thing, that surrounds you like an aura, and your would be customers will pick up on that. Who would you rather buy from after all – someone who is confident, or someone who is learned their sales pitch like a parrot?

The next most important benefit of finding your sales style is that instead of dreading the sales function in your business, you will start to find it enjoyable. It is only when you are trying to be someone you are not, that you have been told you have to be, that you start to resent selling, and when you free yourself from the stereotypes, you will be more inclined to spend more time selling! Success breeds success, and after a while, you will probably find that sales and selling become second nature, and something you look forward to.

So, if your business has been suffering because you shy away from sales, because you have been told you have to be someone you are not, stop. Think about who you are, and develop a sales style that matches your personality. Your business will grow better, and faster, than you ever thought possible, and you will not feel shy, self conscious or nervous doing it!