Selling Skills What Does A Salesperson Do Anyway

A salesperson’s responsibility can best be summarized by the following large responsibilities each requiring separate competencies:

1. Prospecting – a salesperson must always be identifying future users of the product or service and determining how they can benefit from the company’s offerings. The phrase that salespeople use is to maintain a steady pipeline of prospects that potentially can blossom into customers. Just like a gardener has to nurture planted seeds to see them bloom into flowers at some future point, so too must a salesperson be vigilant to always developing new leads or potential customers. Part of the prospecting effort is to not only identify potential companies that can use one’s product or service, but to also target the right person within that company to approach to make the sale. Trying to sell to the wrong person is destined to result in no or low interest because there is little reason for the person to want to make a purchase. For instance, you may have a software application to sell that tracks the speed and accuracy between order placement and order shipping. Trying to sell that to the Vice President of Human Resources will not often lead to a sale. While the Human Resources function is aware of how important that is to the overall success of the company, they are not empowered to buy that software and would have little reason to even entertain its purchase. At best, they may pass you off to another department that they identify as being a possible match for your product’s capabilities, but just as often, you will be shown the door and not have an introduction to the true user and decision-maker for software applications that address shipping accuracy and costs.

2. Sales Cycle Management – Once the right person has been identified within the prospect, it is now incumbent upon the salesperson to manage the sales cycle to ensure that the prospect receives the appropriate information necessary to make a “buy” decision. Whether that means product demonstrations, presentations, creation of prototypes, responding to questions, providing references, or other proofs; the salesperson must lead the prospect through the various decision criteria needed in order to secure a sale.

3. Account Management – It is an often told comment amongst businesspeople and salespeople specifically, but it is easier to sell to someone who has already bought from you than it is to find a new customer. As such, it is also the salesperson’s job to ensure that contact is retained with the customer post purchase to identify other opportunities either with the original contact person within the customer’s business, or with others within the customer’s company.

4. Administrative Functions – a salesperson also needs to track payment terms (and in some instances, is responsible for collecting payment from customers), ideas for new products or services based on discussions with customers, and track expenses incurred to complete the sale.

Selling is both an art and a science and incorporates many skills that must appear seamless if the customer is ever going to make a purchase from your company.

David Zahn is a two-time author addressing the issues of entrepreneurship and consulting ("How To Succeed As An Independent Consultant, 4th Ed." and "The Quntessential Guide To Using Consultants") as well as being a frequent interviewee and contributor to articles in publications like, "BusinessWeekOnline, Entrepreneur, BrandWeek, Training & Development, CTPostOnline, and others. For a free "business readiness assessment," please click on http://www.startupbuilder.com.