After fifty years of studying businesses of all kinds Dun & Bradstreet (the world’s leading provider of financial information on companies – their database holds information on 100 million companies!) concluded that the entirety of business wisdom can be summarised in one statement: “Businesses succeed because of high sales; businesses fail because of low sales.  All else is commentary.”

Therefore the most important thing you can do if you want your business to survive and thrive is to learn to sell.  Selling is a skill that can be learned by anyone.  You just have to follow some simple procedures and obey three simple rules.

Here are those three simple rules.  If you follow them then your success in selling is guaranteed.

Rule 1: Your customers (and customers to be) are not stupid.
In today’s world people are more educated and informed than ever before.  People are more sophisticated and discerning.  People just don’t fall for blatant and manipulative tactics.  I get a little frustrated when I am told that “the sale ends on Friday”.  I know, and you know, that it is immediately replaced with a new sale that starts on Saturday!
People know that there is no such thing as a free lunch.  No-one is very surprised when they get selected to enter the Reader’s Digest free prize draw.  The successful salesperson treats their customers and customers to be with respect.

Rule 2: Sell how you like to be sold to.
When I ask people how they like to be sold to, I always get some very similar responses.  People like to be treated with respect and courtesy.  People like to be listened to.  People like the salesperson to be interested in finding out what they want.  People want the salesperson to put their interests first.  People want to be helped to make a decision that is right for them.  Why then would anyone attempt to sell any differently?  To a certain extent you already know what good selling is!

Rule 3: People are convinced that salespeople want to sell them something.  They are right, so tell them!
Perhaps because of previous encounters, people can be rather suspicious of salespeople.  In the back of their mind they are worried that the salesperson will try to push them into buying something.  To overcome this fear, just tell people what you are doing.

Tell them that your company exists by engaging in commercial transactions or relationships with customers.  You provide products and / or services to customers and they pay money for them.  However, what you do first is to understand what is important to the prospective customer.  When you understand this, you will see if your products and/or services can help them.  If they can, then you will recommend an appropriate solution.  The customer can then decide to say “yes” or “no” to the proposal.  By being up front with the customer you remove any fears they may have and establish trust with them.

Mastering the art and science of selling is one of the best investments you can ever make to ensure your business succeeds in today’s competitive modern marketplace.
Secure your future prosperity and become a master of selling.

Simon Hazeldine is the bestselling author of four business books that have been endorsed by famous business leaders including Duncan Bannatyne from BBC TV’s ‘Dragon’s Den’ and multi-billionaire founder and CEO of Dell Computers, Michael Dell.

For more valuable information on leadership, sales, negotiation and persuasion including sample chapters from Simon Hazeldine’s bestselling books please visit http://www.simonhazeldine.com