Tips for Enhancing and Strengthening Your Sales Skills

By Evelyn Witterholt, RCS Reporter. 

How you can close more sales by developing a “closer’s mindset” and focus on the customer. 

For the past six years, John DeRosa has been working at SRS Distribution, Inc. as the director of contractor training and business development. There, he helps customers implement a sales system and has successfully helped many of them dramatically increase their sales and profits. Recently he spoke with us about his sales process and the need for contractors to develop a “closer’s mindset”. 

John says that one of the first steps to developing this mindset is to focus less on closing the sale -and more on helping the customer make a great decision. He states that when you do this, you focus more on what they want, and this in turn helps with selling them the experience they want. He also says that while you do want to present the great qualities of your product or service, you must also focus on what makes your company different and better from the other contractors the prospect might meet with.  

“People look for difference to base their decisions on – because they want to feel good about making a smart decision.  If they don’t see any difference between you and the other contractors they meet with, they’re going to focus more on the price – because the price becomes the difference.”   

John’s sales process is focused on securing the four commitments that put the customer in a position where they’re ready to move forward. Those commitments include: a commitment to need; a commitment to the company, a commitment to the product and a commitment to the price.  By securing the first three commitments, the salesperson has increased the perceived value of doing business with their company and eliminated every obstacle - other than the price.  Now – if faced with a price objection – the salesperson can ask the client to measure the perceived value against the cost required to do business with you.   

As a sales coach, John says, “I'm not focused on the outcome of just go close it or go sell the value,” he says. “You need to spend more time talking about the behaviors that support the desired result.  It may be more time building rapport. You may need to do a better job telling your company story. You may need to ask smarter questions. You may need to listen better. Whatever it is, any one of those elements is going to affect the outcome.” 

Learn more about SRS Distribution, Inc. in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit srsdistribution.com. 

Listen to the entire podcast for more tips and tricks on enhancing your sales techniques.