Being in sales is a very tricky business. The formulas often change, skills need to be acquired, strategies formed and planned. How many of us have been accosted by a sales person and we got so turned off the moment he uttered his first two sentences? How many of us have actually been lured slowly and find ourselves purchasing without planning to? This has happened countless times to some of us and perhaps a few times to others. Let us face it. We often tend to avoid sales people like the plague. Why? Because we have encountered really bad sales people and do not want to have the same experience.

So, what are they doing wrong? Sales, indeed, is a tricky business. One wrong word out of your mouth and there goes your potential customer. How can that be avoided? By learning the skills of a good sales person and that is to avoid the 3Ps.

In any sales talk, these 3Ps will eventually surface. You will eventually let your potential customer know about the product, the price and then you will have to make a proposal at some point. But unskilled sales persons do this at the very beginning of a conversation. An exceptional sales person will never get to the 3Ps immediately.

The reason why many sales people are unsuccessful is because they make blunders like this. The moment they spot a potential customer, they start talking about their products. They go on and on about how great the product is and how it could actually benefit a lot of people if they have it. Afterwards, they go on and let the potential customer know how cheap it is and how they are giving such great discounts and then they go on and give their proposals.

The difference with successful sales people is that you will not hear them speak almost at all. Great sales people will be actually just asking potential customers about their life and their problems and then provide solutions to these problems. Selling a product is ineffective when you do not even get to know your customer. You need to know what their needs are and you get to know how they think. The way to sell a product is to make your potential customer realize that they actually need your product so that it may solve some of their problems.

How can you sell to your customers if you do not know what they need? Before you actually approach someone with a proposal, you need to carefully plan. Avoid the 3Ps as much as you can in the first meeting and just get to know your customer. Build a relationship. Spend time with them because you will eventually reap the benefits.