Selling Really Isn't Selling!

I had a client who was having trouble with sales. Everything she tried wasn't working in terms of having effective selling conversations. She was calling a potential client, asking them about their needs and trying to match up what she had to their needs. It just wasn't working.

In our contemporary culture we have come to know sales as a separate distinction from service. Just walk into any new car dealership and you have "sales" in the front and "service" in the back. Two completely separate domains. But is it? I say it isn't!

When I asked my client about what she thought of sales she didn't have the most empowering interpretation of the word. To her it was about trying to get something into the hands of someone so you could get money! To some it is about having someone being convinced that they NEED something! Both of these distinctions are about DOING something TO someone. So I proposed a new interpretation of sales that would work for her.

I asked her, "what would it be like if you REPLACED the word "sales" with "service?"

The light came on, "That would work!" She said.

She observed "I could just FOCUS ON THE OTHER PERSON to find out how I could serve them and then see if my product fits. Then even if it doesn't at least I could still help them get what they want!"

This is the secret of sales. My mentor Steve Chandler wrote a book about it called "The Joy Of Selling" where he explains that sales isn't what we traditionally thought it was. It is in essence, serving.

So the next time you're "stuck" with how to sell more of your product ask yourself "who can I serve today?" Then watch the sales ROLL in!