Successful (key) account management – added value through knowledge and a convincing presentation

Check list: 13 golden guidelines for sales

• 1. Active listening: Listen to the customer actively and make him understand that you are actively participating in the conversation. Let – whilst the customer is talking – the words „yes”, “right“, „I see“, „understood“ flow in.
• 2. Groomed appearance: Adapt to your customer´s environment with suitable clothing.
• 3. Confident presentation: The most important three rules, for making a reliable impression in a decisive situation are: keeping eye contact, speaking loudly and clearly, as well as making sweeping arm movements. Through this you radiate confidence, which mostly stabilises during the conversation.
• 4. Profound expertise: All the training and all the sympathy in the world cannot make up for lacking expertise, without which every customer will notice it quickly and it will seldom lead to success.
• 5. Broadly diverse general education: A broad general knowledge provides high flexibility in a conversation, which can create a positive atmosphere, thus contribute to a positive course of the discussion.
• 6. Inventiveness and flexibility: Every sales person must maintain good contacts with customers, as well as with his own company. He must bring his insights and ideas into the company and offer targeted support, so that products can be further developed or the customers’ needs could be responded to even better.
• 7. Good information carrier: The price is not the only thing that matters to the customer! A sales person also needs to offer a source of information in order to distinguish himself from competitors.
• 8. Punctuality and reliability: Not only potentially difficult customers, but also the friendly, regular customer, has a right to punctuality and reliability.
• 9. Assertiveness: Sales people should master the rules of rhetoric and sales rhetoric.
• 10. Sociability: Only if you come across as trustworthy and if you appeal to customers, you will have a chance at being a successful sales person. Shy and reserved people are hardly ever good at sales.
• 11. Good elocution: Try to speak clearly and explicitly (no exaggerated dialect). Rather speak slowly than too fast and in short sentences. The end of a sentence forces you to lower your voice. Take frequent breaks to lure your interlocutor from the reserve.
• 12. Positive basic mind-set: We can only sale well, if we have a positive attitude. We can only convince others when we are truly convinced ourselves.
• 13. Good manners: Etiquette and style are more demanded than ever. Only he who has impeccable manners will be a successful sales person in the long run.