THE ART OF SELLING

I have noticed and witnessed many people talking about sales. At first, I always try to understand their perspectives on the topic, but soon come to realize that there are a lot of people who say they don’t like sales, or they don’t want to be a salesperson. The truth of the matter is everyone is a salesman/woman. People don’t realize they’re selling their thoughts every single day. Let me give an example to support my point. As kids, we always wanted to get candy or a video game and for that, we had to convince our parents such that they will say YES. 

The process of getting the “YES” from our parents is the definition of sales. 

“Selling is simply convincing people to trade something (mostly Money) for service or product.” 

While in school we try to convince our professors to give us extra credit. During an interview, we impress (sell) the interviewer to hire us by showcasing the knowledge and skills we possess. Even when we wake up in the morning and have thoughts to go to the gym or back to sleep, we have to sell these thoughts to ourselves. These are examples of sales in our daily lives.

On a professional level, I began selling since I was 10. My sales journey started by selling Indian spices (red chili powder, turmeric powder, etc.) and after that, I never quit. I ventured into retail, clothing and the tourism industry in India. I came to the US in 2015 and started researching and understanding consumer & spending behaviors. I began to focus on several profitable industries such as retail, liquor, hospitality and most recently the construction industry. 

As I developed sales experience I began to meditate on how my mind functions as I would sell a product or service. Here is my process.

1. Who is the customer?

• Why is it important to know your potential customer? Because when you play a game of darts it is important to know where the target is located. If you aimlessly throw the darts around the possibility of hitting your target is zero. Understanding your customer is similar to playing the dart game effectively. With this understanding you have the insight to efficiently market your product or service.

2. Research and understand the product. 

• It is crucial to know your product/service. Without sufficient knowledge of the product or service, it is impossible to effectively sell that product or service to your customers.

3. How is this product or service delivering value to my customers? 

• As you become familiar with the product or service, you can demonstrate to your customer how the product or service will enrich their lives. The first 15 seconds of your sales pitch is critical. If you can't demonstrate the value of the product or service to your customer than your chance to complete the sale is low.

With my 12 years of sales experience, I have learned the value of knowing my customers, developing extensive knowledge of my products or services, and learning how to deliver this information to my customer to motivate them to purchase.

Has this article bring value to you? Please share your thoughts in the comment section.

Have a super successful day!

Parth Patel