Understand the techniques and recommendations of specialists. The seller’s profile has changed a lot in recent years. Formerly it was said that, to work in sales, it was sufficient to be extroverted and to speak well. If you know how to deal with the customer, then it was just a case of closing orders. This may have been sufficient in certain cases, but there were always professionals with differentiated postures and who, for this very reason, became sales champions. They used to apply  the technique known as the acronym AIDA, which involves the following stages:

• Attention (gain);

• Interest (encourage);

• Desire (awaken);

• Action of purchase (close).

This technique is acknowledged until today and, with certain improvements such as, for example, post-sales service, it can still be useful! Today the sales professional needs to go further. It is important to improve and invest in the development of certain favorable personal characteristics. This is a key point for those wanting to stand out in some way. José Carmo Vieira Oliveira, Marketing consultant of Sebrae-SP (Support Service for Small Businesses and Small Companies of São Paulo), explains that it is essential that resales prioritizes training. “The salesperson has to speak the customer’s language, knowing how to guide him. To do so, (s)he needs to know the maximum about the items offered by the store. (S)he must follow up what is occurring in the market, remaining updated concerning the launchings and the products which are leaving the line. (S)he is not a simple counter assistant, but a consultant of the technician who is there wanting to resolve a problem. Showing that (s)he knows the subject, the salesperson gains the customer’s confidence”, he states. Besides offering the possibility that his attends courses and visits specialized trade fairs, the consultant suggests that the authorities for resales subscribe to technical magazines and make them available to the salespeople.

The training shall be constant, also involving the sales techniques and professional posture. “The salesperson shall know how to make the correct demonstration of the products, having the patience to explain details and spending the time required to listen to the customer. (S)he must know how to argue and answer the objections and the questions which the buyer makes, regarding the quality, durability, guarantee, price and other aspects”, he explains. Understand here how consumers are more demanding. “There is no more space in the market for the order picker, mainly now, when there are so many options for purchasing by the Internet. The customer who goes to the establishment wants information and wishes to be served by somebody who provides him with the solution to a problem”, he adds. This is exactly the posture adopted by  Temperfrio, headquartered in Maringá (PR). “For our expansion and to be successful in the market, the investment in knowledge of the salespeople has to be constant, as well as the increase of the team”, says Rone Aparecido Grillo, managing partner. “Our salespeople know the product which they offer, which enables them to meet the requirements of our demanding customers”. Partnership with customer In the recent book Armas da Persuasão, the North American psychologist Robert B. Cialdini shows the functioning of a basic principle which influences the consumer’s behavior, reciprocity: “if you do something for me, I will do something else in exchange”. In other words, people give more attention to those offering them information which they do not have or solutions to a question which bothers them. While the consultant Edmundo Vieira Cortez, author of the book Novas Estratégias de Vendas – a Venda Focada no Vendedor (New Sales Strategies – the Sale Focused on the Salesperson), goes a little further, defining the sales professional as someone who has more than knowledge and technique. “He sells because he likes it, has motivation and self-confidence, invests in relationships, strives for and is committed to the success of the company and customer”, he states. “He must work for the customer, making the latter see him as a partner who will help to solve a problem”, he says. Cortez updated the acronym AIDA, highlighting the importance of understanding the customer’s problem and including the post-sales stage. The formula he proposes is SADIAS:

• Sounding out;

• Approach;

 Demonstration;

 Information;

• Action of sale (closing);

• Sequencing (post-sales).

“Indeed, the sales process never ends. The closing shall represent the start of a relationship which needs to be maintained and administered. Thereafter, the sales person shall become a consultant of the  customer, supporting him in his requirements, and, consequently, doing new business”, he concludes.

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