Education is the key to getting sale after sale. It helps build trust and relationships with your target market so that customers feel more comfortable buying from you.

You educate them about the market and the available options; and you genuinely try to solve their problems, even if it means they might buy a different product

Markets Have Shifted

With the rise of the glorious internet webs, customer behaviour has changed radically. Historically, gathering information about anything required an enormous amount of time and resources.

Talking to sales reps was the ideal way to learn about product features and benefits, learn about the market, and see how everything worked.

You need ambassadors instead of sales reps.

Ambassadors don’t just fill orders — they’re responsible for the entire customer lifecycle. They handle marketing, sales, and support. They are the face of your company.

Nobody wants to feel like they're being sold to. This was true ten years ago, and with today's technology-fueled evolution in consumer preferences, it's clear that businesses must shift away from antiquated sales practices to build the trust needed to convert new customers.

This creates a challenge for entrepreneurs and small business owners under pressure to increase sales performance in a competitive business climate. The key to building that trust is to position yourself as an expert consultant --not a salesperson. Here's how:

Have customers come to you.

Marketing that draws potential customers to initiate contact with a business rather than the business initiating contact with potential customers, known as inbound marketing, is surging in popularity across all types of industries.

Search engine optimization, content marketing and public relations are replacing tired practices like cold calling, direct mail and spam emailing. Fellow business owners are often blown away when I tell them I haven't made a single cold call since starting my business--and that the bulk of my leads have come through Search and social media.

This approach, while requiring ongoing maintenance and commitment, often generates better leads and higher conversions. And from a sales perspective, one of the biggest advantages of inbound marketing is that, rather than interrupting prospects with solicitations, they are voluntarily coming to you to seek answers, advice or information.

In this dynamic, you are not merely a salesperson. You are viewed as a Ambassador (consultant) and trusted to provide insight and guidance in a non-threatening manner.

Listen and ask questions.

Don't recommend solutions before the prospect even reveals a problem. Instead, start by asking how they found you--this will uncover what they already know and identifies which marketing strategies are drawing inbound leads.

Then, ask thoughtful questions that guide them to revealing their pain points.

Recommend a solution.

Once a potential customer reveals his or her pain points, it's appropriate for you to begin discussing a solution. If you're pitching a product or service at this stage, you're doing it wrong.

Rather than presenting a sales pitch, act like a doctor. When doctors write prescriptions, it doesn't feel like they're selling drugs. That's because you trust that they understand your problem, and you value their recommended solution.

To avoid being viewed as a salesperson, show your ambassadorial skills level of candour and confidence when recommending your product or service. Assume the sale, and work to seamlessly transition the conversation to any final steps needed to seal the deal.

In the end, trust will have the greatest impact on how a potential customer perceives you. The goal is to establish that trust by refraining from stereotypical salesperson behaviours, while still positioning yourself to win the business. If you have a salesperson mentality, you'll compromise that trust. If you have a problem-solving mentality, you'll set yourself up for ongoing sales success.

Disclaimer: The information on this POST is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional advice. The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. All content, including text, graphics, images and information, contained on or available through this article is for general information purposes / educational purposes only, and to ensue discussion or debate.     

Thank you â€¦A few characteristics that I’ve found that most great sales people possess are optimism, empathy and focus. Empathy is important for sales people because they need to be able to identify with customers and understand their point of view. 

Optimism is a critical trait as all salespeople experience a pretty high frequency of rejection. Also optimistic people are persistent and when they are faced with rejection, they are resilient and think of other solutions and alternatives to the situation.  

And lastly, find someone who is personally driven to achieve their goals and self-motivated.

Want to add word or two?  

Shrinking territories.

Once I had the right people in place, I shrunk each person's sales territory and turned their responsibilities into a manageable list.

This was a game changer. I found when you decrease a sales employee's responsibilities, you actually get higher productivity, because they take ownership of their assigned territories and are much more accountable.

Once I assigned a manageable list of places, I allocated leads outside of defined territories as they came in. I did not have a fair approach to assigned leads:

I assigned leads to individual people where I thought we had the best chances for success.

I considered experience of the individual, the prospect’s industry and the particular selling challenges that might arise.

Founders may also want to consider this strategy as sales people need direction. A well-defined territory provides built in focus.

Your comment ….?

Surely we can get rid of our salespeople? 

Customers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and dislike being sold to. With easy access to unlimited information about any products and services on the Internet, what’s the point of salespeople (especially those pushy ones who don’t give you time to think)?

Happily, it doesn’t have to be this way either for you or the customer. There is a third way. Put your hands together for ambassadorial (consultative) selling.

Ambassadorial selling is a method by which the salesperson behaves more like a consultant, giving genuinely useful advice to customers, rather than a salesman en - route to bigger commissions.

The result of ambassadorial selling is that you will be able to promote your products and services effectively through a sales force, and the customer will actually look forward to the experience. 

But, how do you sell ambassadorialy and effectively?

Be knowledgeable

Consultative salespeople can only make the experience useful and genuine if they are experts on the products and services being promoted and the market in which they are being promoted.

They need to know about competitors and how their products differ from competitive offerings. Without this knowledge, the customer will soon see that they are better off going to the internet for answers, than talking with an ignorant sales person.

Be relaxed 

To master this approach, salespeople need to understand that you can only sell something to someone who genuinely needs it.

So relax and understand that you are not in mortal combat with the customer.

Rather, you are trying to help the customer achieve his /her objective of buying the product.

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