You have started your sales career or are in the middle of your sales career.   The following skills will help you to succeed and come out a winner.  It’s time to start acquiring these skills now so that in the coming three to six months you are able to practice them as part of your life style.

Sales Methodology: Select a sales methodology, learn it, practice it and breathe it.    You can choose amongst many… such as SPIN, Select Selling, Miller Heiman.   Attend a training session, buy books on sales processes and subscribe to the web to track innovative processes introduced in sales processes.  Remember  “A proven process succeeds”

Know your products and services: What product or services are you selling?   Read case studies, industry reports and visualize how your products and services will help your customers.  Visualize how and what pain points it will help resolve.  Talk to your product principal and request them to explain the product’s positioning. 

Know your company: What does your company stand for and what are their values and business strategy?  Align your products and services around your organization values and business strategies.  Know your organization SWOT. 

Know your competition: Every product and service is a ‘Blue Ocean’ for some time until the competition crops in and the Blue turns to Red Ocean.  Having said that, it’s important you study your top five competitors - SWOT.    Visit your competitors web site and Subscribe to Google alert about your competition. 

Know  your  market: Know your market potential and market spend; know your market share and the market share of your competitors.  Study  the next 3 years market projection.   Get this data from research and market analyst organizations. For e.g. for information technology could it could be IDC, Gartner and others. 

Know your customers: Know your customers.  Build up your customer’s profile whilst exploring their purchase cycle, the users of your products, influencers and decision makers.  Know their budgets and a reason that compels your customer to buy your product.  Know your customer’s customer. 

Know your  core competency (your value add): Explore and find out why customers buy from you?  That could be your core strength. Then work on strengthening your strengths. 

Having said that, the key to success is Discipline, Initiative and Perseverance, so “DIP”   and success will follow.

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