Selling.
The word itself bring a foul taste to the mouth of some people. It conjures images of slickly-dressed men coming to your door to sell soap or vacuum cleaners. It brings to mind a man with a thick mustache and a cigarette walking up to you on a used car lot.
I know several people who are either unemployed or under-employed. And I keep hearing “I’m not really picky about what job I get. I just don’t want to be in sales.”
Many people, especially those who have never been a “professional” salesperson, feel that to be successful in selling, one has to be pushy and pressure people and sometimes even be dishonest.
Actually, the best salesperson is someone who can identify when someone really has a NEED for a product or service and help that person make a proper buying decision. That same salesperson can also help identify if it really is not in the best interests of the customer to buy the product or service, and make valuable suggestions for alternatives.
We all sell every day.
By trying to convince someone of our opinion, we are selling.
When we ask our spouse to get us a snack, we are selling.
When we bribe our kids with ice cream if they will just shut up and play nice for 5 minutes, we are selling.
When we apply for any job, we are selling.
When we meet someone for the first time, we are selling.
When we start our own business, we are doing a lot of selling.
We all sell. It is just a simple fact of life.
All you have to do in order to sell without actually selling is help people explore their needs, properly educate them on the benefits of your product as it relates to their needs, and develop a rapport so that they trust you are acting in their best interests and not your own.
Theodore Roosevelt once said “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Once they know you care, they will let you help them.
A good sale can be a win-win for everyone. It is a win for the company or person selling the product, and it is a win for the person who has just acquired a solution to a need.
Sales can be a fantastic profession because it allows you to make more money if you help more people. Do not be afraid of selling. Be afraid of pushy sales managers or quotas or people who only look at the dollar signs.
Brent Allan is the “Small Biz Marketing Wiz” who specializes in unconventional marketing methods for small businesses. He is the editor and head honcho for BizWarrior Online. When he isn’t making the world a better place through his knowledge of marketing and branding, he juggles, does magic, and eats fire. Pretty cool, eh?
