Selling skills are the abilities that help salespeople deliver on their promises to customers. They include research and communication skills as well as advanced sales techniques like cross-selling and up-selling. There are several courses available both online and in-person that can help salespeople learn these skills. Having a mentor can also be an excellent way to improve one’s selling skills, whether it’s a manager or a successful sales colleague.
One of the most important selling skills is demonstrating value. Prospects aren’t interested in hearing a list of product features or benefits; they want to know how these products or services will solve their problems and create value for them. Demonstrating this value can be as simple as asking prospects about the challenges they are facing and then describing how your company’s product or service can address them.
The ability to effectively answer customer questions is another essential selling skill. Effective questioning allows selling associates to provide customers with the right information about a product (Amor 2019; Churchill et al. 2000; Rentz et al. 2002) and to link its features with customer needs (Punwatkar and Varghese 2014).
Finally, a good seller should be able to handle unexpected situations that might arise during a sale. Meetings get rescheduled, prospects ask questions that weren’t anticipated, and so on. Being able to adapt quickly in a positive and constructive manner is crucial to maintaining a strong relationship with the customer and closing the deal. skills selling