Sales skills are no longer about show and tell, nor are they about you, your brand, product or service. Times have changed and there is a good chance that you need to update your sales skills to stay current.

Traditional sales skills have thought us about the Golden Rule – do onto others as you would like done onto yourself. That sales skill no longer applies. The sales skills of today require you to follow the Platinum Rule – do onto others and they would like to have done onto themselves.

In other words, the focus of sales skills today is on the customer, their communication styles, their needs and desires, not yours.

Another non traditional sales skill is to exceed customer expectations by providing more value. That value can come as simply as showing interest in the customer – getting them to open up and talk – asking questions and listening, not talking!

Non traditional sales skills require you to build rapport and quickly gain that much needed trust. With trust you can then set some ground rules and work on an honest yes / no basis, ask each other questions and take notes. Those are current the sales skills.

These sales skills will allow you to build relationships, while qualifying prospects, permitting you to say no to them if they are not qualified, and yet maintaining the relationship for future possible business.

By maintaining current sales skills you can make the difference in the reputation of our sales profession. By following traditional sales skills you are maintaining the existing reputation of our profession, which is not good.

Sales skills today require you to follow a proven sales process. One in which the customer feels they are in control, but the sales person is actually in control. Unlike traditional sales skills where the sales person thinks they are in control while the customer is.

The Bottom Line – By keeping your sales skills current and following a proven sales process you can have the sales skills that will put you in control, shorten your sales cycle, increase your margins, revenues and profits.

Tags: sales tips, sales techniques, sales coaching, free sales training