I read a quote this morning that got me thinking back on my early years in sales with all the challenges one faces. I was raised with a strong perfectionism streak. I was always looking for the “best” solution. Naturally everything fell short. It tended to undermine my sales until I learned instead to focus on what the customer wanted and felt he needed. Based on that criterion, I helped customers buy. Doing this, I was always a sales leader despite my perfectionism.
The seed idea that got me thinking this morning was the following quote from Larry Wilson that Tom Justin included in his book, How to Take No for an Answer and Still Succeed: “Everyone is seeking an adequate solution. Not the best one. No one really knows what that is. They want what works.” There is the key point, “They want what works.”
Don’t let perfectionism kill your sales – there is no perfect product. As a heart-centered, soft sell salesperson, you can with integrity help customers buy products that don’t meet your ideal standards provided you tell the truth and avoid lies. Just be certain that what you recommend works because above all else, that is what people [...]
Strange as it sounds, soft sell sales and marketing are, in some ways, tougher to do than hard sell because they require the self-discipline to focus on the concerns of others, and they require caring enough about others to delay your gratification of “closing” the sale. You must wait to describe how wonderful your products and services are until the customers are satisfied that you know and understand what their problems and/or desires are. When you have earned their trust by listening and by asking meaningful questions showing you want to understand better, they will be open and receptive to your advice. This is natural because now they feel you care about them, not just their wallets. Then, when they are ready, you can help your customers buy. [...]
Last night, I got thinking about the similarities between how I sold business customers when I was a sales rep and a sales manager and how I do my consulting. I had just completed my report to my latest client, a subcontract job on sales and marketing for CMTC, a non-profit that specializes in helping small manufacturers in Southern California.
When I sold business-to-business, I was always one of the sales leaders — and I was able to do become a leader in most jobs without pressuring, controlling or manipulating the customer. My normal approach based my actions on an attitude of service. I helped customers buy. Besides a service attitude, it takes curiosity and a constant desire to learn to become a sales [...]
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