Vanessa Bird: How To Be Great At Sales Without Seeming Salesy

Always recap what was discussed so you can get confirmation on everything agreed. Doing this is essential because if they question something at this stage of the close you need to stop the closing process and return to handling objections to ensure they are satisfied. The recap should be where you are both in agreement and the customer is saying yes to everything.

As a part of my series about how to be great at closing sales without seeming pushy, obnoxious, or salesy, I had the pleasure of interviewing Vanessa, The Aesthetic Consultant.

The Aesthetic Consultant® is an award-winning sales expert working as a business consultant in aesthetic medicine. Vanessa coaches her clients to succeed in a highly competitive market and brings over 25 years of sales experience (12 in aesthetics) to teach people that selling every day is the secret to a successful business.

Thank you for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to this career path?

After graduating with an Honours Degree in Philosophy I had no idea what I wanted to do as a career, but I knew I would not even attempt working in sales as it seemed high pressure, pushy and ‘not me’. A few years later I found myself job hunting and an agency put me in touch with a global sales company who had the best training for all their new starters. I needed a job so took it even though I didn’t want a ‘sales career’. Their training gave me the structure and tools needed to succeed in sales, and I soon learned that the most successful way to sell was in the style that suits you. For me that was a consultative and ethical selling style. My clients responded by pushing repeat business my way, I won regional and country-wide awards and eventually side-stepped from FMCG selling services into selling capital equipment in aesthetic medicine. From that, I created my business consultancy service.

Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or take away you took out of that story?

I have so many! One sales role took me to some fascinating places such as huge factories, nuclear power plants and even death scenes. One day I had to go and quote for services at a farm. I arrived super early and after negotiating a business deal the manager asked if I would like a tour to see what they do? Now I LOVE a tour so I said yes. Imagine my horror when I walked into a viewing area that overlooked a huge, over-excited bull who was being brought over to inseminate a cow. I had to watch the whole process whilst the manager next to me described how they collect the ‘end product’ and use it to sell to other farms wanting to breed cattle. Whilst I was trying not to be embarrassed by the show unfolding in front of me I noticed a cone on the table so I absent-mindedly played with it and put it back down. At the end of the ‘viewing’ the manager told me that the cone was what they put inside the cows to collect the ‘end product’. I was SO embarrassed! The lesson I took away from that is that no matter how nosey you are and how keen you are to find out more about the business you’re selling to, double-check first the background of the company before you arrive so there are no surprises! Oh and don’t touch anything!

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I am currently event managing an exciting new laser launch in the U.K. I have found a fantastic venue at Aston Martin on Park Lane in London for my client and we have some very glitzy plans for our guests for when they arrive. Hopefully the event will lead to some big laser sales for my client, very happy doctors who buy the lasers and a lot of publicity in the press as well as huge buzz around the brand.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I have a lot of people to thank for my success over the years. I have had some fantastic bonds with managers who became mentors and friends, colleagues who supported me when times were rough (sales is full of ups and downs) and family and friends who enjoyed and celebrated my success when it came. I am grateful to them all as they all played a huge part in my journey and still do.

For the benefit of our readers, can you tell us a bit why you are an authority on the topic of sales?

I never envisaged going into sales, however I fell into it as I needed a job and pretty soon I soon learned that it was a fascinating and highly skilled. I worked hard whilst being true to the person I am, understanding that there are different styles of selling and you should always use the one that feels like you. I avoided the hard sell and worked on the consultative, relationship-building style of selling and it paid off. Clients regularly bought from me, I thrived on repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals and I smashed targets consistently. I won holidays to exotic locations, had bottles of champagne and bouquets of flowers every month, was awarded designer handbags for exceeding my goals and was recognised in aesthetic medicine in the category of Sales Representative of the Year. This success led to me setting up my own business The Aesthetic Consultant®. You cannot be successful in sales by faking it. It’s all about relationship building.

Let’s shift a bit to what is happening today in the broader world. Many people have become anxious from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. The fears related to the COVID-19 pandemic have understandably heightened a sense of uncertainty and loneliness. From your experience, what are a few ideas that we can use to effectively offer support to our families and loved ones who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

I think we all need to realise that we have been and continue to be under continual stress day to day and have been since the start of Covid-19. This chronic undercurrent of stress and fear of the unknown affects our thought processes, actions and behaviour. We cannot influence many external factors which cause stress and anxiety but we can influence how we react to them. If we know that we or family/friends are triggered by constant bad news in the press, we should limit our time reading or watching the news. We should try and avoid talking about the situation and instead focus on other topics of conversations that induce feelings of relaxation and happiness. Just being someone your family member or friend can talk to is often enough to help reduce anxiety levels.

Ok. Thanks for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. As you know, nearly any business a person will enter, will involve some form of sales. At the same time, most people have never received any formal education about how to be effective at selling. Why do you think our education system teaches nearly every other arcane subject, but sales, one of the most useful and versatile topics, is totally ignored?

I think people dismiss sales as a career choice. They fail to realise that sales is an integral part of every single business regardless of whether it’ categorised as a classic sales role or not. There are so many different styles of selling and I think the education system just doesn’t pick up on that, instead thinking that sales means selling cars or insurance or houses. If they took time to understand how sales works in everyday life, when making connections, when negotiating deals and when progressing your career they would soon introduce it to the education system. Hey, even education is using sales skills to get the attention of students and sell to them the importance of studying their subject.

This discussion, entitled, “How To Be Great At Sales Without Seeming Salesy”, is making an assumption that seeming salesy or pushy is something to be avoided. Do you agree with this assumption? Whether yes, or no, can you articulate why you feel the way you do?

I personally do not enjoy the sales process with a pushy sales person. There is a disconnect for me because if they are pushing forward to the point where it’s noticeable and feels ‘off’ then it means they aren’t taking the time to listen and connect with me properly. If they don’t listen and connect, how can they possibly provide the best solution? Buying something should be an enjoyable process as it’s something you either want, need or provides a service. If the sales person pushes you or you feel you are being rushed, it ceases to be enjoyable and becomes a battle of wills. It also means they are skipping over key parts of the sales process.

The seven stages of a sales cycle are usually broken down to versions of Prospecting, Preparation, Approach, Presentation, Handling objections, Closing, and Follow-up. Which stage do you feel that you are best at? What is your unique approach, your “secret sauce”, to that particular skill? Can you explain or give a story?

I would say I am best at handling objections, closing and following up. This is down to my particular consultative style of selling. If I do my role well and I listen to what they say, take into consideration what they need and answer their questions in full then there should be very few, if any objections to handle and the close happens naturally as the next stage of the process. I always follow up as I genuinely care about how things have worked out and I like to maintain a business connection with my clients. If there are any small issues that crop up I can help immediately before it becomes something that may be problematic. That level of support leads to further repeat business, referrals and boosts my professional reputation.

Lead generation, or prospecting, is one of the basic steps of the sales cycle. Obviously every industry will be different, but can you share some of the fundamental strategies you use to generate good, qualified leads?

You have to understand where the company you are prospecting is in their lifecycle to see how your product or service can fit in with them. Could you help them to the next stage of development? Are they happy with what they have in place or could they improve on this? If they can improve, could you be the one to help? You need to understand why you are contacting them and how you can help them and use this to tailor your approach when you make contact. If you go in and haven’t a clue where they are at or how you can help them then they’ll dismiss you before you even have a chance to build that connection and showcase your product or services.

In my experience, I think the final stages of Handling Objections, Closing, and Follow-up, are the most difficult parts for many people. Why do you think ‘Handling Objections’ is so hard for people? What would you recommend for one to do, to be better at ‘Handling Objections’?

People often mistake objections as a sign the customer is not interested in doing business. It’s actually the opposite. The customer has questions they need to ask or want clarification on something and they are raising these objections so they can better understand how you can give them what they need. If they weren’t interested they wouldn’t even ask a you question, they would just say no. So see objections as an encouraging sign, as a way to fill in any gaps in knowledge or reassure them so they feel confident moving to the close. Once you see in as a positive rather than a negative then you’ll actively enjoy them.

‘Closing’ is of course the proverbial Holy Grail. Can you suggest 5 things one can do to successfully close a sale without being perceived as pushy? If you can, please share a story or example, ideally from your experience, for each.

1. Always recap what was discussed so you can get confirmation on everything agreed. Doing this is essential because if they question something at this stage of the close you need to stop the closing process and return to handling objections to ensure they are satisfied. The recap should be where you are both in agreement and the customer is saying yes to everything.
2. Ask them when they would like the partnership/service/training to start or the device/product delivered? They should start looking at their diary, suggesting dates. This in itself is a form of closing.
3. Ask about their preferred payment method, or if you have a few options for payment go through them and ask them which one they prefer and how would they like to pay? Just like point 2, they should suggest some preferred options which is a sign they are happy to move forwards.
4. Hand them the paperwork and ask them to read through it and check all the details are correct before signing. Be sure to tell them to let you know if something is typed up incorrectly or needs altering. This shows you want to ensure everything is exactly as it should be and what they need and will help instill confidence.
5. Find out if they need help with anything else. You should have assessed this earlier however it is a nice touch to ask again as you are closing the deal. The customer is at the stage where they are confident you are the right choice so may come up with some other opportunities for you. Even better, if they then ask for your advice or help on something you aren’t directly linked with this shows trust and respect for your professional opinion and in itself is a sign the customer is happy to close and move forwards.

Finally, what are your thoughts about ‘Follow up’? Many businesses get leads who might be interested but things never seem to close. What are some good tips for a business leader to successfully follow up and bring things to a conclusion, without appearing overly pushy or overeager?

Following up should initially be quite brief. A simple email sent across saying you were doing some admin updating customer files and noticed that this was still outstanding and was it something they are still interested in or have their circumstances changed? By adding the ‘have your circumstances changed’ you are giving the prospect an opportunity to talk rather than say ‘yes or no’. They may disclose a longer timeline where there is still an opportunity for you, or perhaps tell you about a change of roles in the company and introduce you to a new decision maker. It could be that they just got swamped with work and put it on the back burner? If it leads to the sale, great., If it leads to a no then you thank them for the update and remind them that should they need your services again they can reach out directly. No pushy sales techniques needed.

As you know there are so many modes of communication today. For example, In-person, phone calls, video calls, emails, and text messages. In your opinion, which of these communication methods should be avoided when attempting to close a sale or follow up? Which are the best ones? Can you explain or give a story?

This will vary depending on your relationship with your customer and their working schedule. How they communicate with you tends to be their preferred method of communication so if they like to schedule zoom calls, suggest a follow up zoom call. If they prefer WhatsApp then drop them a WhatsApp asking when would be a good time to catch up? I would not move to text messaging or WhatsApp messaging unless the customer instigates it as it isn’t as professional as other methods.

Ok, we are nearly done. Here is our final “meaty” question. You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

We have so much to learn from our elders, yet in the world of business older people are often sidelined for younger people. We think they aren’t cutting edge enough or don’t understand the trends of today. No amount of education can take the place of experience, of having been there, done that and worn the tee shirt. So I suggest we all take the time to speak to people in business who are older and ask them to share their insights and tips. You never know what you might learn.

How can our readers follow you online?

Please follow @theaestheticconsultant on Instagram, or add me, Vanessa Bird on Linked In. My website is www.theaestheticconsultant.co.uk

Thank you for the interview. We wish you only continued success!