sales skills you actually have to sell

Many sales professionals today use a casual approach. In fact they consider it part of their arsenal of sales skills. They go out of their way to avoid the stereotypical salesperson that rubs everybody the wrong way. While we certainly want to avoid being annoying, acting too casual or too friendly can actually hurt our sales. Case in point...Of all places, I never expected to encounter an over-casual sales professional in a car dealership. I mean this is where the overbearing sales guys aggregate, right? Yet, my sales person stated: "I'm a low-pressure guy. I'm not looking to push any one. I let them make their own decisions." I thought he was just using this as a sales technique to makeme more comfortable. However, not once during the hour I spent with him did he actually ask for the sale. Do you think he sold me a car...?I'm not suggesting that the casual sales approach is wrong. It just needs to encompass actual sales skills. In other words, one has to use sales techniques within the casual approach. A sales philosophy, while nice, does not sell. Sales professionals help people make decisions. This is especially needed in the car industry where there are more options, packages, and choices than one can shake a stick at.I wonder what this sales person was thinking. Was he just hoping I'd whip out my checkbook because he was such a nice guy? The casual chit chat was annoying. I wanted to get down to business! In short, had this sales person asked me questions (rather than small talk), found out my budget (instead of assumed), and actually asked for the sale, he would have made a sale on the spot - he did not.

Original :: sales skills you actually have to sell