Are You "One Of Them" ?

We have all met "That Person" !

We can think back to the sales person who pushed you to buy something you did not want, the obnoxious person who you could not wait to get away from, the person who you knew you could not trust but had to do business with. Unfortunatly, this is how many people view those in the sales industry. An argument can be made that we are all in sales. We are selling products, services, or ourselves. We are all "selling" something.

The mantra of many sales professionals is "one more sale". People are often repelled by sales professionals, not because of what they are selling but how they are selling. The motive for a conversation between a seller and buyer is important. The purpose of the conversation demonstrates the outcome. When the purpose is to get, the result often is more often negative. When the purpose is to give, the result is more often positive.

As sales professionals, we struggle with meeting quotas and the pressure to make a sale. The biggest mistake that is made is we are trying to make a sale. Unfortunatly, the perception of the purpose is to squeeze as much money out of the person as possible. When the person perceives themselves as the target, they will lose trust. Higher the pressure to make the sale, decreases the potential to make a sale. When our purpose is to understand a person's need and propose to solve the need with value, the chances goes up that the people will choose to buy. The difference is a motive to get more or a passion to give more.

" Bad sales managers push two buttons; MORE and PANIC. Great sales managers have one more button to push: HOW." -- Chris Lytle

Sales professionals who understand the power of influencing people by solving their needs through value are consistent in 3 basic behaviors.

1.   Listening twice as much as they speak. Listening to what others have on their minds is the key to building relationships. A genuine desire to listen to what others have to say and not focused on what we want to say is crucial. When we want to sell what we have, we tell what we believe is important. When we desire to understand what they want, we will listen to understand.

2.   Asking great questions. Asking great questions is the key to making a great sale. We need to ask open ended questions when we are discovering our client's needs. Open ended questions start with words like: What, How, When, Where, Why, Tell Me More, etc. Asking questions to illicit information are more effective then questions which ask for one of two answers like yes or no.

3.   Focusing on Needs and not Products. When we speak to prospective clients, a genuine focus on what they need rather then what we think they need is important. We need to focus on the concerns they have rather than reasons they believe they can’t afford your product or services. Concentrating on creating value generates more success than filling quotas.

Generating great sales is becoming significant by becoming a solution. When we focus on how we can generate solutions, sales will follow. The money we earn is a reward for a job well done. Every dollar we make represents a person we served. Building relationships generates great opportunity to serve. The greater the opportunity to serve, greater the rewards.

Business Coach Bob Reish

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About the Author:

Coach Bob Reish is the President and Certified Business Coach of Bob Reish Business Coaching LLC. Coach Bob is partnered with FocalPoint Business Coaching International powered by Brian Tracy. He has a wealth of experience in business coaching and corporate training, amassing more than 12,000 hours of coaching and training with over 7,000 professionals and business owners. He is the author of, “If You Are Selling Cookies, I’m Interested!”

Throughout his career, Coach Bob has established and maintained strong relationships with professionals from a wide variety of companies, including Bankers Life, Farmers Insurance, LegalShield, Holiday Inn, WFG Financial, and Edward Jones Financial. The principle that governs his work is when we change the way we think, we will change our world.

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