Master the Art of Selling: 5 Essential Tips for Success During my career, I discovered that closing a sale only completes about 20% of the sales process, contrary to the common belief that it constitutes 80%. The remaining 80% encompasses...

By David Meltzer

This story originally appeared on Due

During my career, I discovered that closing a sale only completes about 20% of the sales process, contrary to the common belief that it constitutes 80%. The remaining 80% encompasses managing and developing strategies, which is equally vital.

Here are five insightful tips to enhance your selling prowess and achieve success.

1. Harness the Power of Exponential Sales

Instead of hard selling, focus on creating value and exceeding customer expectations to achieve exponential sales. Take, for example, my book that I offer for free, including the shipping price. This strategy focuses on the value provided by the book's content, which encourages customers to share it with others, leading to more sales.

I always insist on giving my book out for free because that is how the content is going to vibrate the fastest. They read my book, they share it with their friends, they go buy five more and that is why it sells. I am focusing on the content that I am providing, rather than how I am going to monetize, motivate or manipulate instead.

2. Cold Calling: Conquer Your Ego

The challenge of cold calling often stems from ego issues that instigate fear and hinder sales. To master cold calling, consider adopting an alter-ego strategy. Your ego can interfere with closing deals and conducting business by stirring up fears of loss or offense.

Instead of leaving messages that may go unanswered, aim to pique interest by always knowing your objective. The goal of your call, meeting, or speech should always be to encourage the recipient to reach back out to you. We waste so much time leaving messages when the one goal of our cold calls should always be to get that person to call you back and close the deal. If you are trying to stimulate interest, you need to know your objective.

3. Know Your Objective

Understanding your objective is a crucial part of any sales strategy. If your goal is to stimulate interest, then the objective of your communications should be to entice the customer to call you back. How many times have you responded to a voice message or email trying to sell you something? More often than not, such approaches fail to elicit a response.

Focus on sparking curiosity, sharing your vision, talking about the value you offer, and forging emotional connections with your customers. You need them to call you back so that you can transmit interest and be capable of sharing your mutual visions and the value that you can provide to one another. I encourage you to be curious, ask questions, and make emotional connections with people so you can understand them and they can understand you.

4. Understand the Power of "No's"

Transform your approach to hearing "no." View it not as a setback but as a stepping stone towards a "yes." Constantly assess the reasons, impacts, and capabilities of your product. If these factors don't align with the customer's needs, don't waste time chasing them. It's better to seek out the "no's" as each one brings you closer to securing a "yes." Celebrate each "no" as it brings you one step closer to your path of success. It also saves time and money because if the reasons, impacts, and capabilities of the product are not aligned with what you want, you aren't going to waste your time chasing them.

5. Implement the Rule of Three

To expedite your journey to success, consider employing the rule of three. If a potential customer misses your call or defers the interaction three times, consider it a "no." Politely tell them you'd love to do business when they're ready and move on to more receptive prospects. This strategy respects both your time and theirs, ensuring you spend your energy on people who align with your business.

I always recommend ending your conversation with the phrase, "Does that sound fair?". At the end of the day, everyone wants fairness and it allows the person to feel like you value and understand their perspective as well.

Each "no" brings you closer to a "yes." Rather than getting bogged down by rejections, invest your time and energy inefficient prospects that align with your business. Master these strategies to unlock your sales potential and make the sales journey as rewarding as the destination.

Each of these strategies is integral to navigating the world of sales and achieving remarkable success. Remember, each "no" is a stepping stone closer to a "yes," and every efficient prospect aligns better with your business. Stay focused, trust the process, and embrace these tips to unlock your sales potential. The journey of sales is filled with challenges and rewards alike – rise to the occasion and make each interaction count.

The post Master the Art of Selling: 5 Essential Tips for Success appeared first on Due.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

How to Start a Side Hustle With Facebook, From 4 People Who Did It and Are Earning More Than $1 Million a Year

More than a third of U.S. adults have a side hustle — and online opportunities abound.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Business News

How High School Field Hockey Coach Kylie Kelce Took Joe Rogan's No. 1 Podcast Spot

Kylie Kelce, 32, is a mom of three who has found herself surrounded by some pretty famous friends.

Thought Leaders

The Heartbreaking Lose of a Child to Cancer Brought These 3 Founders Together. Now Their Startup Has Raised $60 Million to Fight and Treat the Disease With Cutting-Edge Tech.

What happens when a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, a synthetic biology expert, and a world-renowned cancer researcher team up? They create Earli—a startup rewriting the rules of cancer detection and treatment.