Sales Fundamentals

“Line upon line, precept upon precept,” is a great Old Testament phrase.

So many early- and mid-career sales professionals are anxious to pick up “advanced” selling techniques. They want to hear the 43 new closing techniques they didn’t learn at Professional Selling 101 back at the corporate offices. They want to practice the latest, powerful tricks of persuasion. They want to know what magical new things to say to get past the price objections they already feel inadequate to handle.

Of course, their excitement overshadows the fact that they’ve not yet mastered the basic fundamentals of selling that will never change.

The tendency to overlook or underestimate the importance of relating to people, showing an interest in them, asking questions to understand their business and their challenges, and then positioning your product or service correctly is alarming. Line upon line, precept upon precept. Crawl first, then walk, then run.

What makes a good salesperson better is nailing the fundamentals.