So you're new to sales! Congratulations! You're now part of the engine that drives the American economy. It is an exciting profession to be in but like any profession in has its pitfalls.

Every sales person has individual reasons for being in sales and recipes for success. It is important that you define your recipe as quickly as possible. It must be custom to your situation and it must answer basic needs which you bring to the table. While no one can answer this question for you, you must decide the ingredients to include in your recipe. Here are some suggestions for starters:

Find A Mentor

Whether it is in your own office, or better still a totally different profession, find someone who is successful in sales and meet with them on a regular basis to pick their brains and find out how they got started and what they did to overcome frustrations. Don't be bashful; they're likely to be very pleased to share their story with you. Listen carefully and take lots of notes. Ask questions, then figure out how the answers apply to your situation.

Learn Your Industry

It is amazing how many people in the sales business do not know basics about their own industry. Likely there are publications which focus on your industry. Find back issues and study them religiously. You'll find tons of information which will be very helpful.

Learn Your Product

This seems so elementary and yet it is so overlooked. Not only should you learn your product, but you must learn how it benefits the customer. Focus your sales pitch around this simple idea.

Talk benefits, benefits, benefits

Certainly you should know all the features of your product but you must be able to translate that into benefits for customers. Stay with that approach consistently. Never should you allow yourself to wander off into a recitation of your product features while you're with the customer. Instead, listen attentively and find ways to weave your product's benefit into the discussion.

Become A Better Listener

Good salespeople let the customer do most of the talking and in so doing allow the customer to sell themselves on the product. As the customer's talking, you'll be tempted to recite how your product can do wonders for him or her. Resist this temptation and simply listen and continue to ask questions. Allowing the customer to talk will uncover additional needs which you will be able to translate into sales.

Ask Good Questions

You should never have a prepared list of questions to ask every prospect, but as Edgar Schein says, "use strategic improvisation." What he means by this is have a very definite idea as to where you want to go with the discussion (strategy) but be able to improvise the questions to follow the customer lead. This allows you flexibility and makes the conversation real for the customer.

Find Ways To Motivate Yourself

Read the article on motivation elsewhere in this website. Do some serious reflecting to understand your own makeup and what sorts of things motivate you. Learn to build yourself up when you need it so you can keep making calls and being successful. This is the hardest job most salespeople ever take on: Learning how to keep themselves motivated. Talk with your mentor about this and make sure you are doing the things to keep you at a high level of motivation.

Another good idea is to use the forum on this website to ask questions and get others to help you.

Of course, these are not all the things you need to know to be successful but it is a good start. Keep reading, learning about your product, learning about the customer, asking good questions and listening attentively and you will be successful.

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