Your Only Job
By Coach Colle Davis
If you are in sales and good at selling, you bypass or override other people’s objections to get the deal. It is your job, you love it, and in most cases, it pays well.
If a prospect allows you to give them a presentation, they are already looking for your product or service. Your only job is to work out the details of delivery. Whether you present them to them face-to-face, via Zoom, on the phone, by text, or by email, they have given you time to provide the information.
Everyone is in sales. Even a hermit is doing their best to sell everyone the idea that their way of life is the best, even if it’s only for them.
Most interactions involve persuasion, even if it’s only selling them on the idea of having lunch at Joe’s Steak House or In-and-Our Burgers. You may be selling an intangible product or service or selling them on the idea of a first date. Your sales pitch will hopefully benefit you, and your outcome may also help them, but a win: win is not always possible.
The best agreements are created when both parties accept
and support the terms and conditions reached through discussion and compromise.
If this sounds cold and clinical, it is. Since the day you were born, your only job is to get your outcomes (food, a clean diaper, a hug). As a very young child, a small cry would create a response to an immediate need. Somewhere in your second or third year, you have discovered that you are not the center of the universe and are not granted an unlimited pass to get what you want. Those who get through this phase have an opportunity to live a socially acceptable life—those who do not will not.
Here is the trick: How can you increase your winning ratio?
Questin: What has to happen for you to achieve more of your outcomes?
Answer: Focus on the needs of the other person.
- When you sell something, the recipient needs to have their needs met in your mutual transaction.
- Or, they must think you are there to help them get their needs met after you have clearly stated what you want for them, then they become your ally and want to help you.
- This strategy also points out the stupid, the evil, and the takers early in the game. If a person is unwilling to help you achieve your outcomes, they are not worthy of your time, loyalty, or energy.
For those who feel this is a cavalier approach, you are right. It also gets you to your outcomes much faster, with less struggle, and helps you make friends.
You must utilize your resources to your advantage while helping others get theirs.
“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a
needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.” – Matthew 19:24
Many unscrupulous people use their power to take people’s money without giving them anything in return by using their position and contacts to manipulate, scam, coerce or steal their money. Accumulating money through fraudulent methods is one way they validate themselves. Their practice of stealing money is illegal, dangerous, and short-sighted (think Bernie Madoff).
Back to selling. What type of person do you want to be known as in this world?
Each time you achieve a desired outcome, look at it carefully to see if that is what you want or if you enjoy the game of selling.
- In business, the pay is excellent for those who can sell.
- In personal relationships, your friends also want to win. Relationships are about compromise and caring, which means the selling has to involve both parties getting something out of the transaction.
Focusing on business for a moment, what are you selling? If you have a job, some part of it requires you to make a presentation to influence another person to buy a product or service, even if it is internal or for you personally.
- FACT: Everyone in your organization is always selling, or your company is not growing.
- Educate all your employees from top to bottom on the importance of being a knowledgeable, supportive, and caring salesperson.
- Teach them they are there to help everyone, including those working in the office, potential customers, and competitors. One never knows when a competitor will want to buy your product because they admire your character. They may even want to hire you to work for them and pay you more.
For more tips and tricks, sign up for the My Coach’s Notes Newsletter. It is an occasional dollop of wisdom, sarcasm, humor, and ways to have more fun.
Colle Davis, Executive Coach. For more help, encouragement, or to turbocharge your life, call or email me. I am a Senior Level Master Coach with over 30 years of helping corporate clients. Reserve your free twenty-minute Zoom call with me, and your life will never be the same. 804-467-1536 EST cdavis@mycoach.com In the meantime, stay safe and have fun.
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