The Art of Persuasion

With all the advances in the professionalism of our profession, sadly today many people still believe sales is something you do to another rather than for another. We’re making strides in leaving that “used-car” persona behind, but there’s still a lot of work to do.

A lot of that work comes in the art of persuasion. Being a professional salesperson requires one to be skilled in the art of persuasion, but many are still confused as to what it actually means.

As Zig Ziglar so aptly noted, persuasion is not getting someone to do or take action on something they don’t want to do, that’s manipulation. In sales, persuasion is simply providing good, solid reasoning to assist someone in making a decision which benefits them.
It’s just that simple.

The Art of Persuasion

The art of persuasion is built upon four main pillars: self confidence, belief in your product, enthusiasm and a true desire to help the other person.

Self Confidence: An essential element to persuasion is being confident enough in yourself to recommend a solution for your prospect. You must know deep down inside you can help the prospect and have the confidence to take a stance in support of yourself, your product and your company. When you exude that self confidence, your prospects gain confidence in you and are much more likely to give credence to your suggestions and solutions. At the same time, nothing will turn a prospect off like self doubt–and there’s no hiding it. It hangs on you like the scent of a skunk, unable to be covered or concealed.

Sales Success Requires Cooperation

Seldom am I able to write a blog post which covers all areas of sales and is essentially a blanket statement. Today is one of those days: sales success requires cooperation with and from other departments within your company. In order to be the best you can be and provide your customers with the best possible service you must work and communicate with others—others who will touch the customer and perhaps deliver on the promises you make.

Sales Success Requires Cooperation

Being successful in sales means successfully navigating the treacherous waters of office politics, petty jealousies and any number of other issues facing you and your department on a daily basis. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Know How Things Work: It’s important you understand the workflow process. When you place an order or bring on a new customer, who does what? How many people get involved with your sale? How many things have to go right (and could potentially go wrong) during one sales cycle? You must know this. You have to understand how your actions affect others within your own organization. Others will probably have to fulfill your promises—make sure you know what it takes for them to do so.