Don’t Sell What’s on the Wagon If

Selling what’s on your wagon once was the only option

For hundreds of year or longer, there were merchants who traveled from town to town, country to country. You’ve doubtless seen movies and TV shows of the Old West when a peddler came through a remote rural area with his wagon loaded with as much merchandise as he could carry. If you wanted something then, like a skillet, you bought what he had or did without. In those times, the wait before someone else came through could be weeks or months. Moreover, the selection wasn’t that big so you rarely thought about waiting until the 14” cast iron skillet came through if he had a 12” one now.

Traditional Business Attitude Showed Up in Retail

This gave rise to an expression in retail that I was taught when I first went to work for Radio Shack Computer Centers in 1981: sell what’s on the wagon. They expected us to switch the customer to what we had in the store if we didn’t have what he really wanted. A good salesperson in their chain was expected to convince the customer, whether it really was want he wanted and needed or not.

Honesty and Integrity Are More Important than the Sale of the Moment

I’m telling you, don’t sell your customers what’s on the wagon just to get the sale regardless of whether it’ right or wrong for them. Soft sell sales and marketing are about aligning with your customers. Get to know and understand their problems and desires, wants and needs. Hold off recommending anything until you know and understand their position. Then advise them with all the honesty and integrity you would want if you were the customer.

More Knowledgeable Customers Today Still Want Trusted Advisers

Selling what’s on the wagon is another example of hard sell. Today’s customers know that they have all sorts of choices. They’re also better informed than any previous generation. I’ve also heard numerous friends complain about the lack of product knowledge with sales clerks. They want salespeople to know their products so as to be able to advise them.

Use Your Expertise to Find Out Prospects Real Concerns – Then Help Them Buy

Unless someone has real expertise in a topic, your customers know roughly what they want so that’s what they’ll ask for. If you care about your customers, you use your expertise to ask questions so you understand their situation. It may be that what you have in your store is actually better for them than what they feel they want. When they trust you, you can explain why you’re recommending what you have instead. If it’s not, tell them where they can get what they need if you know. You’ll earn the gratitude of the customer – and normally find they come back to buy other products from you because they trust you.

Soft Sell Sales Are Fun, Fulfilling and Mutually Rewarding

The soft sell approach focuses on the customer’s interests first thereby building a trust-based relationship. As a soft sell sales rep, you don’t sell what’s on the wagon if it is not in the customer’s best interests. Because you help customers buy only when it really is right for them, you will find sales fun, fulfilling, and mutually rewarding.