Anyone can sell if the price is cheap enough or if what is being sold is something people can’t live without. However, for the vast majority of us, neither of these luxuries are part of the scenario in our sales strategy.

The difficulty of selling is compounded by the fact that most customers have a wide range of options available to them regarding what they can buy. Therefore, in order to close the sale, it becomes necessary for us to stand out from other salespeople. One of the best ways to be different is by displaying a confident personality.

A powerful sales tool that many of us overlook is our personality. It positively and negatively influences far more sales than we will ever admit to. I firmly believe that you should use your personality to impact every sales call.

“CPP” is a concept I often teach to sales groups. It stands for “Confidently Passionate Personality” and it means to use your personality with a level of passion and confidence that allows the customer to believe you are genuinely interested in them and their success. Although it’s not rocket science, it is a critical idea that is often neglected and is very useful in helping you gain sales over your competition.

Confidence Sells

Note that in order to successfully use your personality on a sales call, you have to be confident in how you can help your customers. Unfortunately, many salespeople are simply confident in what they’re selling, not in their ability. There’s a big difference. It’s not that it’s wrong to be confident in what you are selling, but if you put more emphasis on your products or services than on your customers, then you are not selling to your full potential.

This misunderstanding eliminates a large number of salespeople from being able to use their personality to positively influence their ability to close. Confidence should not come across as manipulation or arrogance. I’m sure we all know salespeople who have infectious personalities and use them to bulldoze their way through with customers. On the surface, they’re very successful, at least for the short term.

However, those who have a manipulative personality will lull themselves into a false sense of security when, in reality, they’re destroying their long-term sales potential.

A confident salesperson is willing to take the time to find out what the real needs of their customers are. They don’t jump at the person’s first comment and try to close the deal. Their genuine interest helps expose the underlying needs that the customer may otherwise not be willing to share. Confident salespeople believe so strongly in themselves and their ability to help that they’re not concerned with making a quick sale. Rather, they want to make a great sale, which is usually much bigger and more profitable than a quick one.

Showing Passion

Furthermore, when you’re genuinely confident in yourself as a salesperson and how you can help people, it’s impossible to keep from showing your passion. The word “passion” is usually heard in the context of someone being passionately in love with another person. This is not what I’m talking about.

The “passion” to which I am referring is showing genuine care and concern for helping the customer. This means that you’re willing to not only take interest in what they are telling you, but to also dig deeper, even if it takes you down a line of questioning you had not planned on.

The true test in demonstrating passion toward a customer is if after you’ve determined their needs and discovered that they are not in line with what you are selling, you would be willing to refer them to someone else. That’s passion! Yes, it may mean giving up a sale, but I guarantee that if you truly are passionate toward your customers, you’ll end up with far more sales in the long-run than the person who is not.

Finally, to successfully use your personality as a sales tool, you must be someone with whom people like to associate. Negative or self-serving personalities will not see positive results. Your personality must be upbeat in both actions and words, and should be complimentary to everyone with whom you come in contact.

Attractive personalities do not get easily upset with issues, are willing to help find solutions, and are optimistic. They are inviting rather than exclusive, and they cause others to willingly share openly. Very simply — an attractive personality is one you would like to hang out with.

To determine your level of confidence, ask yourself the following two questions.

• Do customers call you for information that goes beyond what you sell?
• Do customers willingly refer you to others?

Although they are simple questions, the responses they elicit can quickly tell you if your personality is confident, but not arrogant.

Having a CPP — “Confidently Passionate Personality” — is not something every salesperson can achieve. However, for the vast majority, it is attainable if they’re willing to show genuine interest in their customers. The questions they ask and the service they provide will allow their personalities to be the effective sales tool that differs from their competition.

Learn, Teach, Sell Yourself to More Sales

Every sales call you make needs to include the “Learn, Teach, Sell” concept. Today’s customer has many options available to them. Rarely are we in a position to sell to a customer something that is so unique and compelling that they have no other choice but to buy from us. To help create a competitive edge in the marketplace, we must find ways to distinguish our selling process from that of our competition.

One of the most effective ways to do this is to use each call to “learn” something about the customer and to “teach” them something about the business. When we take the time to both “learn” and “teach” the customer something, then we have earned the right to “sell” them. This is a consultative selling approach.

“Learning” something about the customer is absolutely essential if we are going to be in a position to help identify their true needs. Therefore, the questions you ask must allow you to gain information that can be used either in the current call or at a later time with the customer. An example might be finding out from a customer what their financial limits are.

“Teaching” is the way we can help the customer become more qualified in their position and, in turn, make better decisions. Teaching them something should not be centered on the products or services we offer, but on the industry and business practices. The key is to provide them with practical information. By doing so, you will demonstrate that you are interested in helping them be more successful, rather than just selling them something.

The final step is to “sell” the customer. Naturally, we want to sell our products on every call. However, reality reminds us that many times there are objections and other issues that must be overcome before the customer will buy from us. Still, it is essential for us to “sell” on every sales call, whether it is simply selling our integrity, our listening skills, or our personal style.

In the end, we have been successful if we have earned the right, privilege, honor and respect to call on the customer again. This is best achieved when we’ve taken the time to first learn from them, and second, teach them information of benefit.

MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].