Written by: Siddharth Dabhade
About the author: Managing Director at MiQ. Ex Google | Microsoft. Tech biz builder and investor
In my experience here are the ways in which you can learn sales and be a top notch professional.
Observe what good salesperson in your organization do
If you are working in a sales organization, this is absolutely important and the fastest way to learn. I have observed many strong sales persons (and not all were in sales!) and many interesting styles to sell. Observe very closely how the best salesperson in your organization brings in sales, how they fix their appointments, how do they ask questions, pitch and handle objections from clients. How do they position themselves and so on.
Read books on sales
Yes, this has been very important personally for me. I have been an academically strong person who chose to be in sales and reading books and learning and applying from them comes naturally to me. There are many great sales books and experts. One of my favorite book is a book called “Sales Dogs” by Blair Singer. Brian Tracy also has a very good book on sales and success. It is also important to read books on marketing, business strategy, your industry related books, negotiation and books on personal development. One good idea from a book is worth millions of dollars of sales in your career.
Read sales blogs, watch videos on the internet, attend seminars
HBR has a blog and content on sales. There are many interesting videos on different aspects of sales like public speaking, cold calls, sales techniques and so on. It is also important to watch motivational videos and read motivational content to keep motivation levels and energy levels high. It is important to also attend seminars. Take every advantage of all sales related seminars and training arranged by your organization.
Self reflection and debriefing after every sales call
This is absolutely powerful. If you do not do anything else but only do this, you will be able to understand what is going well and what could have gone better after every sales call or client meeting. And then if you ask yourself, how I could have done better, you will start getting answers. It will also motivate you to observe others, read books and consume content about sales and will help you improve after every sales call!
Learn during the low periods
This is really, really critical. There are always highs and lows in sales. When there are lows in sales, the tendency is to quit or look for greener pastures. But low times are the best periods to self reflect and learn as skills learnt during that time will make you the best sales professional.
Last but not the least,
Keep your why alive
Why do you want to be in sales and why do you want to learn sales has to be absolutely clear and very strong in your mind. If your why is strong, you will overcome all the obstacles to learn sales and be the best at it.
