What Are the Best Tips for Working in Sales?

Did you know that the annual salary of salespeople in the U.S. ranges between $14,000 and $121,000? The lower end is for entry-level positions, while the top figures are for sales executives.

While $14,000 is low, you can expect it to increase as you gain more experience. And part of that is learning and applying the best business sales tips and strategies.

To that end, we created this guide on making the most of your career working in sales. Read on for techniques to help you become a stellar and successful salesperson.

Enroll in Professional Sales Training Programs

According to the folks at Janek.com, the right training programs can give you up to an 889% return on investment. They can also help improve performance by nearly 10%. These are all beneficial whether you’re still finding a job or trying to close deals.

Training programs, after all, teach core and advanced skills necessary in sales careers. The former includes selling, teleselling, prospecting, and customer service skills. Examples of the latter include account planning, negotiation, and storytelling.

Thoroughly Understand What You’re Selling

When choosing a career in sales, you must prepare to invest time studying everything you plan to sell. You must know what they are, how they work, what problems they solve, and who can benefit from them.

That knowledge can then help you better determine your target market. Likewise, it makes you more authoritative, as you can tell your customers what they need to know. Furthermore, your in-depth understanding lets you answer client questions promptly.

Also, understanding what you plan to sell can help with proper product selection. By knowing their purpose, pros, and cons, you can ask yourself if it’s something you’d buy yourself.

If so, then consider buying the product, too, before you even try selling it. This lets you determine whether the product delivers and makes good on its claims. If it does, you can turn this positive, personal experience into a selling point in your sales pitch.

Remember That Persistence Is Key

While you should aim for a one-call close, remember that it doesn’t always apply to all situations. For example, you’ll likely encounter numerous consumers who wish to read reviews first. They may also ask you for product documentation they’d want to study before deciding.

Thus, you must prepare yourself to be persistent and make several follow-up calls. Make too few calls, and you may miss out on converting prospects to paying customers.

So how many calls should you make then?

Experts say closing most (as much as 80%!) sales deals requires making five calls. Interestingly, only 1 in 10 salespeople are persistent enough to do this. So to be a winner, don’t give up unless you’ve made that fifth contact.

Follow These Tips When Working in Sales

As you can see, proper training can help raise your success rate while working in sales. The same goes for having an in-depth understanding of the products you wish to sell. Last but not least, don’t give up immediately, but make those five calls to close deals.

To read even more educational reads like this, check out our most recent blog posts!