SALESMANSHIP CAN BE LEARNED.

SALESMANSHIP CAN BE LEARNED.
By Shah N. Khan

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–94), Scottish novelist said,
""Everyone lives by selling something, whatever be his right
to it" If you are looking for a job, you have to show a sort
of salesmanship to get the job you want to get. An author has to do
a sort of selling to convince a publisher to publish his work.
So salesmanship is not confined to actual selling of products.

Selling is an art that you can learn if you make serious efforts.
Work at it and salesmanship will work for you. It will make your
customers as well as other people, like you, trust you and give
preference to you in all their dealings. You just keep on trying
and learning the art of selling irrespective of the results for
your attempts to sell.

There is no such thing as a born salesman. You can learn
salesmanship by studying, training, observing and practicing.
And practice and positive approach will make you perfect.

What is common in salesmanship and swimming?
If you do not know swimming and try to cross a deep river by
swimming, you will drown. So is the case with selling. Many
people fail because they expect to succeed in sales without
learning.

It is a part of the game of the salesmanship to hear and digest
'NO' with a smile. A salesman must get rid of the fear of rejection.
The best way to do it to expect more or less 900 to 950 people out
of 1000 to say NO and you won't be hurt. You just keep on liking
all your prospects even those who say NO. But from every contact
you learn something new if you keep your eyes and ears open. You
hurt yourself only by your own feeling of remorse and regret. In
insurance sales even the best of the salesmen average success rate
of hardly 10% of the people contacted.

Selecting and finding people whom you can sell is called
Prospecting. The success or failure in sales depends a lot the
way you do your prospecting. Maintaining a diary, seeking
appointment and obtaining introductions or referrals must a part
of daily routine. Calling on total strangers is more difficult
and requires different approach than calling on people referred
by the people known to you. People like to buy from the people
they trust.

Integrity of the salesman and his willingness to provide after
sales service and to work out a solution best suited to his
client and his interests are among the common denominators of
highly successful sales and marketing executives and other
personnel.

Planning and setting goals & targets are stepping stones for the
sales work 'In sales your goals must be out of reach but not of
out of sight.' Ben Feldman the greatest life insurance salesman
who made millions just by selling life insurance stated this. He
pursued the goals that were not achievable without extra ordinary
efforts. But he never set the goals that were foolishly high. He
kept on reviewing his progress and goals. He believed that that
you goals must not only for your business, but also for family as
well as social and cultural life.

It is said that in sales your Altitude depends on your Attitude.
This is quite correct. Somebody coined a phrase "KASH FORMULA"
for success in selling and defined it as follows:

1. K for knowledge of the product, organization and familiarity
with the basic principles of selling and marketing techniques.

2. A for attitude. Perseverance, patience and positive approach.

3. S for skills. Mastering presentation techniques, polishing up
sales talk and using psychological appeal.

4. H for habits. Personal habits to maintain good health, expanding
social circle, punctuality etc. count a lot.

This is just an overview of the things you can learn for in sales
you can ask for the moon and get it. But there is an old rule for
bargains as Charles Dickens wrote '"Do other men, for they would
do you." That’s the true business precept."
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Shah N. Khan has over 20 years experience as a senior executive
in marketing and supervising life insurance sales force besides
underwriting and advertising. He had started his career as Underwriter
of American Life Insurance Company in 1960. He retired as Executive Director
of State Life Insurance Corporation. He is now editing a weekly ezines
related to Management and Marketing and Personal Development and also
works as Internet consultant.
http://www.netvert.biz