Some Wisdom For Sales People - This Means You

And I'll say it again. If you're breathing, you're a sales person. Sooner or later there will come a time in your life where you will need to convince someone of something. You will need to sell them on an idea, a product or service.

Whether you know it or not, you're in sales. It doesn't matter what line of work you're in, where you happen to reside on this planet or anything. Trust me on this. You're a sales person.

• Doctors need to sell their patients on good health or why a procedure is a good idea.
• Employees will have to convince their boss to give them a raise or a promotion.
• Someone's going to need to show a prospective employer why they're the right person for the job.
• A buyer will need to convince the "salesperson" that he needs to discount his car.
  
• A wife will need to sell her husband on why watching "Pretty Woman" for the 38th time is a better way to spend the evening then going to the Tractor Pulls.
• A young man is going to want that pretty lady's phone number. Why should she give it to him?
• A kid will need to get mom and dad to believe he won't shoot his eye out if he gets a BB Gun.

This is a never ending list...

Today, I found a bit of wisdom for ALL of you sales people and I plan on spending this Hub dissecting it.

"A GOOD FISHERMAN GOES OUT OF HIS WAY TO BAIT HIS HOOK WITH WHAT THE FISH PREFER-WHICH MIGHT NOT BE A BAD TIP FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO SUCCEED IN HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS."

"Just as in a conversation it’s a good idea to listen more than you talk, it is also wise in relationships to think about the well-being of others more than you think about your own wishes and desires. When you constantly strive to treat others in the same way you would like them to treat you, you become a person whom others like to be around, one who commands their respect, confidence, and loyalty. When you learn to manage emotions and your ego, and when you learn to always consider the needs and desires of others, it is inevitable that you will "bait your hook" with kindness and consideration, and catch more friends than you can count."

So, if you're in sales. How does this apply to you? I learned something very valuable rather early in my selling career.

"Selling is a conversation and power comes from the words you use."

Now I don't know exactly who coined this phrase. I heard it from a man named Brent Abdula at a Grant Cardone training seminar. What I do know is that this has stuck with me and this line literally changed how I approach not only potential clients but people in general.

When you enter the realm of convincing others it is important to commit to a few things. The first is to do it ethically and from a place of true belief in what you're selling.

So, as a fisherman, if the fish you're fishing for prefer squid, you better be putting squid on your hook. Velveeta cheese probably won't do the trick(unless you're fishing for catfish according to my uncle).

Now, I trust, you, like me have a product, idea or service you'd like to get across and so you need to talk to your buyer (prospect) about it. If you go into that yapping about why it's the best thing ever without first finding out what's important to the buyer, all you're going to be doing is yapping about why this is the best thing ever.

What's going wrong here? At this point you're only in it for yourself. Selling from this paradigm will only bring frustration and misery.

It is vital to engage your buyer and talk to them. Find out what's important to them. Why are they here? How specifically can your product or service literally improve their situation, help them become better or more than what they are right now.

Case in point:

If you're a the car business and a guy pulls on the lot with an 92 convertible Mazda Miata with faded paint, blue smoke coming out the back and a 8 month pregnant wife in the passenger seat, what kind of conversation are you going to have? Would you try to sell him another convertible because the boss put a bonus on that car in the sales meeting? God, I hope not!

How can you best serve this budding family?

You can start by talking about that Mazda. What he's liked about it, what he hasn't liked about it, any problems with it lately (aside from the blue smoke), and most important, what is most important to them in their next vehicle and why .

That should get the ball rolling. By showing a genuine interest in your prospect you will gain first their interest. By continuing on in that pattern you will secondly gain their respect and finally if you continue to to stay focused on being of service and value to your client, putting their needs ahead of yours you will gain their trust which will lead to the the referral, which for any professional sales person is a wonderful thing. 

Take care of your customer, client, buyer, significant other and the "commission" will fall into place naturally.

This concept of being of service and putting the needs of others in front of your own will produce consistent results that will pay many, many dividends. This does not mean you don't make time for you, let's be clear about that. It means that when you're with your client that you put them and their needs ahead of all other things. A bird in the hand...

you know the rest.

Now if you're not in the traditional world of selling, see how you can plug this idea into your own life. Using similar examples from earlier:

• A good doctor will clearly put the needs of his patients first
• An employee who has put the needs of the company first and works towards not only representing the company well but takes the company mission statement to heart will surely succeed and will most like be given a raise before having to ask.
• What would a prospective employer do or think if you started an interview with genuine concern, asking why they're hiring, what he likes most about his best employee and what he likes least about his worst employee and then spent the rest of the interview presenting why you can be all that and more?
• Taking genuine interest in your salesperson and relating with him/her on a personal level will surely guarantee you a better deal and smoother negotiating process.
  
• Cooking your husband's favorite meal and rubbing his back before starting the move will make it very hard for him to say no, besides he'll be too full and relaxed to want to leave for the Tractor Pulls!
  
• Showing real interest in the girl and not in "other" things will be the best route to the number.
• Compromise with mom and dad to wear safety goggles at all times because you understand that they love you and worry about your safety.

It can all be yours when you put your buyer first and mean it!