The Importance of Practicing Sales
By Mike Moore
Practicing your sales pitch is only for beginners, right? Wrong! No matter the level of your selling expertise, you should be fine-tuning your sales routine so it's perfect for the customer. Here are my tips on why it's important to practice, what you should be practicing, and whom you should be practicing on.
Why you should practice.
Practice doesn't necessarily make perfect; it makes a habit. Practicing your sales routine is a good way to identify and correct bad habits you may not have noticed before. Additionally, preferences of new management or updated product details may create the need to change your pitch, and the only way to master new information is by practicing.
What you should practice.
Customers don't just rely on the content of your pitch - they listen to the tone of your voice and cadence of your speech to know how important the issue is and how passionate you are about the product. Customers also try to understand the HVAC terminology you use, which can be difficult if those terms are overly technical. Most importantly, they judge whether your pitch is personable or just another meaningless attempt to bring in more cash. After practicing your routine, ask yourself, "Would I buy from myself?" If the answer is no, find out how to change your pitch to make yourself believe it.
Whom you should practice on.
Practice frequently and with a varied audience. Try selling to neighbors who haven't heard your spiel before or see how well you can sell to your boss. Different people want to be sold to in different ways, so practice selling to different types of people. For added motivation, challenge your coworkers to see who can give the best pitch and use peer feedback to better your routine.
By thoroughly practicing your pitch and adjusting it accordingly for the customer, you'll be more confident and prepared to make any sale.
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