The ABC's of Selling - K

K - Knowledge

There are four kinds of knowledge you need to be a successful salesperson today.  Obviously you need to know your product and company. But you also need indepth knowledge of:

your client
the industry
your competitors

The reason that knowledge about the client is important is so that you can be a consultative salesperson and can connect your benefits with their problem or opportunities - by individual. Otherwise, the linkage or connection of your solution to their needs will be done by the client who often gets it wrong or misses the benefits of your solutions. Or worse, the competitor links into a pain you weren't aware of to close the deal.

Industry knowledge is key to establishing credibility and bringing value to a selling relationship. And if you can bring benchmarks, best practices, ideas and innovations, you can earn advisor status.

Knowledge of competitors, their solutions, and their strategies will allow you to differentiate yourself in a professional manner and get them reacting to your questions (through the client), rather than being on the defensive. It will also allow you to anticipate, predict and neutralize a competitor's strategies.

The great salespeople that I know purposefully build a knowledge of their competitors' solutions that equals their own. How and when to use it professionally is a fine art depending on the quality of your relationship, the industry and country that you are in, and where you are in the sales cycle.