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A Definition of Selling
Most of us like buying things but hate 'being
sold to'. It seems as though there is something bad implicit
in the word sell. But here's a story which may make you
think otherwise.
A group of businessmen in a newly democratic, former East Block country were being schooled in sales and marketing, subjects that they had little experience of under the communist regime. 'Can you define selling for me?' asked the course instructor. One person told him, 'It's finding out what people want - and helping them get it'. How does that fit with your notion of what sales is about? Do you seeing selling as something that you 'do' to people, or is it more that you do it 'for' them? Adopt the paradigm that selling is a service activity in which your role is assisting people obtain goods or a service that will help them. From that perspective, your interaction with prospects will be much easier and so will be getting a positive purchasing decision. Of course, to do this, you need to explore what the prospect wants and needs and you have to know your own specialty well so that you can advise competently. Finding out what the customer wants is best done with open questions. Those beginning with the words 'What' and 'How' work best. You get lengthy, informative answers. Be careful not to use a string of closed questions instead; they produce single-word responses and make it hard to keep a dialogue going. You can spot closed questions easily, they have a verb right at the beginning – 'is it', 'do you', 'have you', for example. This way of handling customers is not only pleasant from the client's perspective, It's also extremely effective in closing the sale and getting repeat business. Find out what people want and help them get it – for your own sales success.
If you enjoyed this article, take a look at my book.
And if another
challenge facing your business is recruiting an effective salesperson, see also:
How
to Hire a Really Good Technical Sales Engineer
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More articles on better selling
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