As a professional headhunter I'm in sales, and ultimately my product is people. Ten years into this profession (backed up by three additional years in the auto industry as a marketing manager) have taught me two valuable keys to success in sales.

1) Ask your customer questions. Lots and lots of questions. I believe that a great salesperson spends more time asking questions than answering them. You have to truly invest the time in understanding not just what your client needs, but why they need it and what will happen to them if they don't get what they need. In my line of work that means understanding the needs of two parties, the jobseeker and the employer. Ask them tough questions that get to the root of their needs. Make them really think about what is important.

2) Understand the difference between price and value. If your customer just wants to talk price, then you haven't built value into what you are doing for them. Which means you probably don't understand their needs properly. Price is what you pay for something. Value is what you get in return for your money that is worth more to you than the money itself.

Sales professionals who take the time to build value into their service and truly understand the needs of their customers don't have to "close". The close just happens because you've understood the need of your customer and then introduced them to a solution that is worth more to them than the money they're paying you. A lot of salesmen pride themselves in being "closers", in their abiltiy to "get them to sign on the line that is dotted". I pride myself on being an "opener", not a "closer". I do the hard work at the beginning and then just watch it come together naturally.

In time your client will come to look at you as a partner, not a service provider. That is where the real success lies.

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Jonathan

2011 Mazda2
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1994 C280 (retired)