SKILL
Product Knowledge for Better Sales RENEE HOUSTON ZEMANSKI
The two major elements of a successful sales ca- reer are: 1) selling skill and 2) product knowledge. A gap in either one can cause sales to stay at the same level or drop. When these two elements work in tandem, however, a rep’s sales will grow – and so will the company’s profits.
Feet on the street are fine but, when a rep is in front of a prospect, skill and knowledge meet their biggest test. At the end of the fiscal year, if sales are flagging, there may be a knowledge gap somewhere.
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“Clearly product knowledge is the foundation for selling,” says one sales expert. “The majority of companies provide their sales team with product knowledge training. However, many of them fail to integrate it with sales
training. Product training alone is not sufficient; it has to be usable, acces- sible, and salesperson friendly.” Product knowledge is often pre- sented from a technical, product, and organization-focused perspective. While this is all well and good, the expert says that companies need to enhance that product knowledge by making it client focused and sales oriented, too. Training should go beyond the features, benefits, target market, and how the product works. It should also include client needs, questions to ask the client, success stories, anticipated objections and how to respond to them, the competi- tors’ strengths and weaknesses, and
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