movieking

Sales Is a Service, Not a Scam

By STEVE STRAUSS, AOL SMALL BUSINESS
Posted: 2010-04-06 18:51:25
Steve Strauss




Q: I love my business but one area that I have a hard time with is the sales aspect of it. "Selling" people stuff they are not sure they need is icky to me. Is there some way to make it easier?

Sarah

A: There are two ways to think about sales, and one is infinitely easier than the other.

The difficult way is to think about sales in the traditional manner -- that you are trying to get someone to buy something that they may or may not need and it is your job is to talk them into it.

Well, no wonder it is hard and seems unappealing. Who wants to do that? And who would return to a business where that is the sales attitude? Not many people.

The whole idea that sales is a manipulative game where the salesperson uses tricks to out-wit the customer is very old fashioned, and worse, wrong. Thinking of sales in that manner makes it a zero-sum game where there is a winner and a loser, where your customer is the enemy, and where it is your job to get the best of him or her.

Instead, having spoken with some of the most successful salespeople in the world, what I know is that sales is not a scam, but a service. It is when you begin to change your way of looking at sales from one of manipulation to one of assistance that sales transforms from taking to giving.

The best salespeople usually see themselves as being in service to their customers.

In this paradigm, it is not your job as a salesperson to sell customers stuff, but rather, it is your job to understand what their needs are and then assist them in solving those needs. It is when you do that that you build trust, create rapport, and, oh yes, by the way, get the sale.

I think it was Tom Hopkins, one of the great salesmen ever, who told me that salespeople need to remember that they have two ears but one mouth for a reason: They need to listen twice as often as they speak. Indeed, if you think it is your job as a salesperson to speak and sell all of the time, you will indeed find selling hard, and worse, morally compromising.

But if, on the other hand, you remember that you need to listen more, you will likely have a completely different sales experience. Your listening will uncover what it is that your customer needs. It may be what you are selling, and hopefully it is, but if not, saying so can also reap long-term dividends.

Example: I just heard a story about a woman whose brakes on her car were squealing. She took the car to a local gas station and they told her she needed new brakes. She then decided to go to a mechanic she had heard about. He discovered that the only problem was that she had a rock stuck in the brake pad. Yes, it cost him $300, but he will earn that ten-fold over the years from his new long-term customer.

How did he do that -- by selling her brakes she didn't need? No, he did it by listening and helping her solve her problem.

That's the secret to making selling easy.

engfant

Sounds good BUT the ending bothers me as it's a big MAYBE OR MAYBE NOT. Who says he earned her lifetime business?

DB Hottie

I took a financial class once, and we were instructed to look for a business/salesperson who has the heart of a teacher.

If a salesperson asks how much you want to spend w/o asking what you need/want, that's red flag #1.

I would have been a lifetime client of his. Sincerity wins.

A+ article.

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