This document provides 22 sales insights to help improve selling skills. Some of the key insights include focusing on helping customers change rather than just helping them buy; using stories and analogies to make information more engaging and memorable; listening more than talking to understand customer needs; and asking for referrals to leverage existing trust. It emphasizes the importance of ongoing sales training to incorporate new strategies and stay up to date on trends.
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According to Forbes Magazine,
55% of salespeople
don’t have the right selling skills
Here are 22 unique insights
to influence your prospects
and sell better
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Instead of focusing on selling, focus on helping
your clients to change to the positive:
Help your prospect identify the weak points
of their operations and how it affects other
sides of the business
Help your prospect understand the need
for change and create urgency around
the potential risks involved
Help your prospect analyse the potential
solutions
6. 30
%
50
%
80
%
provide
information to
your prospect
share your
opinion and
stories
aid to make sense
of the information
provided
giving
telling
sense-making
The sense-making communication style increases customer
confidence, reduces scepticism and leads to greater closure rates
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30
%
50
%
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Rethink the whole Marketing and Sales strategy!
allow the Marketing and Sales functions to
partner closely during the entire customer
purchase journey
be more proactive in generating new leads
It will help you draw interest towards your product and build
up trust between you and your prospect.
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ACT AS AN ADVISOR
SalesInsight#4
30
%
50
%
80
%
Act as an advisor for your
clients and help them figure
out what's best for them
and their company
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be the advisoryourcustomerneeds
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30
%
50
%
80
%
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How do you become a trusted advisor in sales?
All of this will help you to build a stronger relationship with your client - and
to make more sales.
Pay attention to what your client says and show
recognition by following up on it
Offer value and actionable insights
Be proactive by presenting solutions to their
problems
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30
%
50
%
80
%
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Why do we buy more from people we like?
Once you have established a personal
connection, your prospect will look for reasons to
support your information as factual and useful
Without a personal connection, none of your
information will be taken as credible. Your
prospect will be looking for reasons to reject
what you are saying
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ask for a referral
SalesInsight#7
30
%
50
%
80
%
87% of sales reps agree
that referrals represent the
highest quality leads
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makeuseofexistingconnections
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Sales generated
through referrals
typically lead to
higher closing rates
By asking for a referral you leverage the trust that you have
build with your customer, and the trust your customer has with
someone else
people are 4x more likely to
buy when referred by a friend
4x
37%
3-5x
of referrals have higher
retention rates compared to
non-referrals
referrals are 3-5x more likely
to convert compared to non-
referrals
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3 reasons why you should ask more questions:
They engage your counterpart, and as a result,
you control their attention
Only questions, not reasons, persuade
They get your prospect talking, which helps
you understand his needs and challenges
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30
%
50
%
80
%
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Selling is not the same as talking. Listening is an important part of it:
If you don't really listen, you will miss out on what
your prospect actually needs. 43/57 is the golden
ratio: 43% of talking done by the salesperson, and
the majority with 57% done by the prospect
Don't interrupt, listen to emotions and don't
assume anything. Clarify, ask more questions
and summarise what you have learned
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Stories help us to connect on a personal level. We think and feel
through them, and re-live the storyteller's experience with its emotions
Of course, you don't want to lose business
credibility by skipping facts and figures.
So here is our tip: state a value proposition,
include facts and quantified results and then give
an example from your customer through a
personal story.
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80
%
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How do analogies and metaphors work?
They break down a complex statement and make it
simple
They are easier to remember
They turn something unfamiliar into something
relevant
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ask for action,
not permission
SalesInsight#13
30
%
50
%
80
%
replace “may i”with“willyou”
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Asking for action helps to
inspire a desired outcome
and elicits a response in
people
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Asking for action:
Tells someone what they should do
Gives motivation to do so
Leads to soft commitment
Asking for action creates a feeling of obligation within a person. People
tend to stick to their commitments because they like to honour them, and it
makes them feel better about themselves.
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30
%
50
%
80
%
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Not only processes our brain visual information more
effectively than text, but they are also more
persuasive and easier to remember:
A picture’s worth a thousand words – almost literally
of people remember what
they heard
10%
20%
of people remember what
they read
80%
of people remember what
they saw and did
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30
%
50
%
Here are 4 easy ways how you can create curiosity in others:
Violate expectations
End emails with a cliff-hanger
Ask a stimulating question
Talk about information others didn’t know
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33. SalesInsight#16
ask for a small
request first
foot-in-the-doortechnique
People are more likely to
agree to a bigger request,
after agreeing to a smaller
request first
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How can you use this technique for your future sales?
1.
2.
Determine an appropriate
small thing to ask. This should
be something which your
prospect is likely to agree to.
Create a way to introduce
the bigger request. This can
happen right after the
smaller demand.
35. LOSSAVERSION
frame your offers
in terms of loss
SalesInsight#17
The pain of losing is
twice as powerful as the
pleasure of gaining
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People are more willing to take risks to avoid a loss than
to make a gain. How can you use this in sales?
1.
2.
Make your prospects feel like they already own
your product. Once your prospects feel like
that, they will not want to lose it again
Save customers from future regret. Clearly
express what your prospects would lose if they
don’t own your product
37. Don’t give up,
followup
SalesInsight#18 Don’tforgettofollowup
The majority of sales
require around 5 follow-
ups, but more than half of
all salespeople give up
after just one
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You shouldn’t just take no for an answer:
Your prospect might be busy
Your prospect might need time to think about the
offer
It might just be the wrong timing
Follow-up calls or emails can help you understand where you stand in a
deal. They can help build trust, or maybe address possible missing
information or problems.
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Here are some tips on how you can easily engage with
your audience:
Get the attention from costumers with engaging
questions
Limit yourself to relevant and qualitative content to
get the best out of your request
Talk about engaging stories which trigger positive
emotions
41. 63% of consumers say they
are more likely to purchase
from a site if it has product
ratings and reviews
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SalesInsight#20
USE SOCIAL PROOF
SOCIALPROOF ASAPOWERFULTOOL
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Social proof is a powerful technique to build trust and
make a product more desirable. This is how you can
activate it:
Refer to similar customers by using phrases like
“most businesses in your situation …“
Display positive reviews or customer testimonials
on your website
Show your prospects that buyers similar to them
have purchased your product and experienced
positive results
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How can you show your prospect that you understand
him?
Ask questions to learn more – how should you
understand his or her needs if you don’t ask the
right questions?
Use the word “you” – it’s captivating and shows
your prospect what you are saying is relevant
for him
Solve their problems – formulate your offers so
they address their needs and solve their
problems
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Did you know? 55% of salespeople lack the basic sales
skills to be successful!
That’s why training is important: it can be
the source of important new information
about up-to-date trends, new sales strategies
and new sales tools
Invest in training and it will pay out later!
47. Join our sales workshops to create a winning
sales playbook and to master the art of sales
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