The 5 Key Knowledge a Professional Salespeople Needs to Know | Professional Selling Skills

In order for any professional salespeople to have peak performance in selling, they are five very important knowledge salespeople need to know.

Business knowledge

Professional salespeople must be fully up to date with the overall business climate both at home and overseas. They should be well read, should be able to converse with clients on marketing trends, on changes in the business climate and on home and international politics. This information comes, of course, from listening to the radio, watching television and from reading trade magazines and newspapers and social media using the internet.

Industry knowledge

Professional salespeople must be fully informed about the industry of which they are part. They should be familiar with their competitors’ products, prices and positioning. They should be aware of other people or personalities within their own industry, and they should be aware of their competitors’ main selling points and new product releases. This information is readily available in the trade press and from relevant societies, organizations and professional bodies and of course via social media the internet. Do get involved with your trade association.

Company knowledge

Professional salespeople must be good ambassadors for their company, which means that they should be well aware of company policy and in-company schedules. They should be particularly well informed about their company’s marketing and advertising programmes and, lastly, they should know the right people and departmental contacts within the organization. This will, of course, mean that from time to time they can point their own customer or client in the right direction for assistance or further business.

Product knowledge

That you should know your product thoroughly may seem obvious, but it is quite extraordinary how many salespeople are not fully conversant with the products that they are attempting to sell. Nothing is more frustrating for customers than salespeople who are ignorant about their products. But, perhaps even more importantly, if you don’t have a profound knowledge of your products, you will be unable to exercise any persuasive skills. You will show a lack of belief, and in the end you will inevitably join the 80 per cent of those salespeople who are not performing at all.

Selling knowledge

Even those people who have been in sales for many years will agree that they must continually update and refresh their knowledge, skills and techniques. One of the most common failings I find in people who have been actively selling the same products for many years is that they stop practising the skills of salesmanship. They slip into the ‘comfort zone’ of product, knowledge and delivery – big, big mistake. Invest in yourself and get yourself updated on professional salesmanship.

Some companies make the mistake of thinking that product knowledge training is sales training. Sadly, these organizations are very misguided and the result is that their salespeople are highly knowledgeable about the products, but haven’t got a clue about how to win sales and build relationships.

Knowledge is power, we are told. In fact, in the world of professional selling, knowledge is potential power. We all get paid for using our knowledge, not for just knowing. ‘It’s not what you know that matters, it’s who you know that really matters’, we are told. But that is not strictly true either. It’s what you do with who you know that really matters.