Developing
Your Skills
Strengthen your sales skills. No matter what line of business you're in, sales are
probably an important part of your field. Even if you don't actually work in
sales, as a professional you will need to be able to sell ideas, project roles,
and cooperation.
- Listen sincerely to others. Understand their needs, desires, fears, and frustrations.
- Don't bring your own agenda to your business interactions. If you want to be a professional and develop successful sales skills, you'll need to devote all of your attention to the person you're talking to.
- Instead of talking someone into something they don't necessarily want, try to allow that person to reach the decision on their own. Whether you're selling products or ideas, present your "product" with clarity, concision, honesty, and integrity, and highlight the benefits or advantages of that product.
- Understand what your customers or coworkers expect from what you're offering. Those expectations are more important than what you think they should need or expect.
Exercise communication skills. Communication skills will help you in any professional
arena, and may even benefit your personal life as well. How you communicate can
affect the first impression others have of you, and may make or break your
professional opportunities.
- Resist saying the first thing on your mind. Instead, try waiting five seconds or so, and if you still think your input is relevant and contributes to the conversation, then voice your idea.
- If you're naturally shy or soft-spoken, challenge yourself to be more vocal and active in conversations.
- Be aware of yourself - not just your appearance (which is important), but also your words, your tone, and your body language.
- Understand your conversational objective(s) before you join a conversation.
- Be empathetic towards others. If someone (a customer, a coworker, a manager, etc.) is having a hard time, be understanding of their struggles. Put yourself in that person's place and try to think about what you might want to hear in that moment.
Work on interpersonal skills.
Interpersonal skills are essential if you want to be part of any professional
team. The ability to get along with others and work collaboratively is an
important part of any business, no matter what professional field you work in.
- Be mindful of whom you're speaking with, and how you might be coming across, in every interaction with others.
- Accept that you may not agree with others all the time, and they may not always agree with you. That's okay - you can find ways to compromise, or agree to disagree. Just don't try to argue or fight with others, as this may result in hurt feelings and fractured professional relationships.
- Ask a trusted colleague to give you feedback on your interpersonal skills. Let him or her know that you're trying to develop your skills and would like to know how you come across to others.
Learn leadership skills. If you're hoping to become a successful professional, you
probably have aspirations of earning a leadership role. The best way to prepare
for that role - and prove to your superiors that you're a natural leader - is
to develop your leadership skills before you get promoted to a
managerial role.
- Put the needs of others and the needs of the company ahead of your own needs.
- Empower others. Commend other people for their work and celebrate their success every day.
- Remember that every action contributes toward your identity as a leader. Instead of seeing every action or interaction as an isolated incident, think of them as a series of steps on the road towards success and leadership.
- Practice informed decision-making skills. Ensure that every decision you make will better you as well as the company, and/or create new opportunities for yourself and/or the company.
The remaining points shall be discussed in the next post.
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