If You Are Great At Selling, You Must Be A Person Delivering Great Value!

MusicianWould you agree with that statement? Of course you would! Great salespersons are always the rock stars, aren’t they? More pay, more incentives, maybe not so much more benefits, but which great salesperson needs those, anyway? You see books about great salespersons, you might have attended courses about selling like one of those great  salespersons, and you probably dream about how life must be like if you were that great salesperson. So what’s stopping you?
Big companies have plenty of great salespersons, too. How else would you be able to explain how, with the increasing popularity of the “Green” movement, “healthy lifestyle” apostles and rising levels of concern about “Mother Earth”, companies whose goods and services would seem to run afoul of these popular movements, have not been toppled yet? A main reason, of course, is that the science of sales knows that a great majority are habitually apathetic and enslaved to the philosophy of convenience, which is what is actually being sold a lot of the time. By the way, I haven’t mentioned “marketing” yet, because to me sales is the tactical arm of the marketing posture. You might be forgiven for thinking otherwise, since sales people and marketing people are so often at odds with each other!
Have you ever bought something from a salesperson just to get him or her off your back? That’s probably all of us. How about those who give you freebies and promise you a “no obligations” demonstration? I was walking past a stand offering a certain type of household product and had not seen the brand before. Wanting to find out more, I asked for a brochure. I was given one or two freebies and asked if I would like to have a “no obligations” demonstration at my home. I said yes, and the salesperson showed up at the appointed time and conducted the demonstration. When it was over, I was immediately pressed to buy one of two models of the equipment. As I observed the salesperson’s behaviour, it became increasingly obvious that all the salesperson cared about was making a sale. The salesperson had no loyalty to the company and did not care one hoot about whether we actually needed the equipment or not. In fact, I almost laughed out loud when the salesperson told me that the salesperson was sure that at least one or two of my children would be having asthma when in fact none of them did. All the expressions of concern for my family’s well being evaporated immediately. Have you had similar experiences? How did you respond?
SuperheroIf you are a truly great salesperson, you would focus most of your time on developing a relationship with your buyer so that you know what your buyer actually needs. That may or may not include whatever it is you are selling. Would you still help that buyer? Would you refer your competitor to that buyer because you know that your competitor offers certain features which you don’t but that you are certain your buyer needs? Do that, and you are well on your way to being a Valued Partner rather than just another vendor. (I dislike the term “vendor” intensely, by the way).
So, it is not that if you are a great salesperson, you must be a person who delivers great value. It’s the other way round. Consistently deliver great value, and you would have the basic prerequisites of being a great salesperson. Oh, taking a course or two on selling wouldn’t hurt, but they should be add-ons to your value, not your value per se.
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