No one wants to be “sold”. Heck most people don’t like to sell. If I told you that most every conversation you have you are in the process of “selling” and we are all in “sales” every day, you might tell me I am crazy,
I believe the majority of interactions we have with our spouses is a form of sales. If you don’t want to call it sales, I would say it is definitely negotiation. Take the dreaded what do you want to eat tonight, when I ask my wife. She replies, “I don’t care I am up for anything”? Great I say, “Let’s do pizza”. The corresponding answer, “Oh I don’t want pizza I am feeling bloated.”
That might have been an important point when she said, “I don’t care I am up for anything”.
This is where your sales skills need to be honed. If you really want pizza, then you can do your best to sell your spouse on the features and benefits of getting pizza from the lack of dishes to not having to worry about lunch for the next day. You can even sell your spouse that the pizza restaurant has many other choices from sandwiches to pasta to salad if she wants something lighter for her bloated day!
Every interaction is a potential to get someone to agree with your viewpoint. That is generally what sales is all about. If you can get someone to agree to your viewpoint then you are selling them your thoughts and ideas. If you don’t want to call it selling since you think that word sounds bad or degrading, then use a different word. Maybe transferring your thoughts or ideas makes you feel better.
I have always been in sales and I heard years ago that sales are synonymous with being in the transportation business. You are helping people to get to where they or you want them to go. You are leading them in a direction. That my friends, is the ultimate form of transportation.
I hear from so many that they don’t want to be sold. I think the best way to sell someone something is to ask questions. If you ask questions, they can always tell you no so in the process of asking questions you are trying to ask questions that they can agree on.
In the sales game we have all hear about the “Sell the Pen” test. In an interview you are asked to “sell the pen” to the person giving the interview.
Most people when they talk about selling the pen the start with the features and benefits of the pen without asking the person if they are even interested in buying a pen. You make your job of selling the pen pointless if the person isn’t even in the market for the pen. So, you start with questions like sir/ma’am, are you interested in buying a great pen? If they say yes you can then ask more questions like, what type of pens do you like? Do you like a heavy/light pen? Do you like a certain type or color of ink? Is the look of the pen important? Don’t tell them about your features, ask what they want in a pen. Always be listening to their wants.
IF they tell you they aren’t in the market for a pen then ask them if they know anyone else who might be? You can also ask them if they were looking for a pen in the future what type of features would they be looking for?
Always be asking questions and it won’t feel like selling.
And for heaven’s sake if they don’t want a pen, DON’T TRY TO SELL THEM A PEN! Listen to your customers and they will tell you what they want.
Pip