Category Archives for "Soft Sell"

Don't Forget the Facts — Soft Sell Sales Isn't Just About the Customer's Situation

By John Aberle | Sales and Marketing , Soft Sell

This past Sunday, I read the draft of my ebook, Building Trust through Questions, to my writers’ group. Despite the variety of their work experience, several members stressed that in my efforts to emphasize the importance of questions, I shouldn’t forget that the salesperson needs to know his product and the company needs good customer service. Don’t forget the facts.

They are right, of course. Because of my years in business-to-business outside sales, I admit, I took product knowledge as a given. Wrong. I know better. Not every salesperson is committed to a career. For some it’s just a job, a paycheck. On the other hand, successful salespeople grab all the product training they can get. They never rely on their employers for all of it. They take what the company is able to give and then dig further. They ask questions to really understand how the products and services work and why they are important to your customers.

Product knowledge is important, whatever style of sales or whatever marketing you do, hard sell or soft sell. When I got started in selling microcomputers in 1981, I stayed after hours to practice with the company computers so I could master word processing and spreadsheets. I also studied our other programs. Because I knew my products, I projected confidence and enthusiasm Continue reading