I read a blog post the other day about what makes some people great salespeople. The post paints a picture of salespeople as intense cut throats that will do anything to close a sale. The kind of people that “eat what they kill” and “aren’t team players.” Salespeople, according to the article, are driven by the rush that comes with closing.
I’m sure there are salespeople like this. Whether or not this is an effective way to sell depends on multiple factors, including (1) What you’re selling, (2) Who you’re selling to and (3) What else, besides money, matters to you with regard to the sale.
Before I go any further, I should loudly admit that I don’t work in sales. I have, on a small scale. I used to have an active real estate license, and I worked as a retail manager for a short time in between college and law school. That doesn’t make me a good sales person. In fact, by the definition offered in the article I linked to above, I’m most definitely not a good sales person.
To some extent, most jobs in the private sector are sales jobs in some way. As a lawyer, the only product you sell is your advice. Lawyers simply sell what they know, just like accountants, consultants and, for the most part, doctors. If you’re an engineer, you’re creating the underlying product and (hopefully) educating the sales people about what the product does and how it works. Even though I don’t work directly in sales, I’ve had the opportunity to observe some salespeople that I think are pretty good. On top of that, I always feel qualified to write about what I feel makes a good salesperson from my viewpoint as a consumer.
Here’s what I think makes someone a good salesperson:
1. People that are good at building relationships tend to be good at sales. Why? Because we tend to prefer to buy things from people we like. It’s possible to bulldoze your way to a sale. You might get someone to buy from you with a cutthroat, aggressive sales strategy, but probably only once. I’m not going to go back to someone who is overly aggressive. I will go back, again and again, to someone I like. My wife and I buy our car and home owner’s insurance from a family friend. I know for a fact we could get cheaper insurance (my wife has checked). We don’t, and it’s certainly not because they bulldozed their way into our lives and we’re too passive to change. It’s because we have a relationship with the people involved, and we’d rather preserve that relationship than save a few bucks each month. That’s effective selling.
2. People who believe in what they’re selling tend to be good at sales. Frank, open, honest recommendations based on something a sales person actually believes is an effective way to sell something. Don’t sell Coke if you drink Pepsi. Don’t drive a Chevy if you drive a Honda. Don’t sell pharmaceuticals that you don’t believe actually work. Sell something you’re convinced works and you won’t need to rely on your acting skills to convince your customers.
3. Good sales people are knowledgeable about their products. A good friend of mine spent time in management at Best Buy. Now he works at a commission based sales job (which he’s great at, btw – he was born to sell). I remember casually asking him about this or that product in the section of the store he was a manager in. Even after he didn’t work there anymore, he could still compare the merits of one product to another. He kept up with the latest features in the latest products, even after he ceased to work there. You need to know why what you’re selling is better than what the other guy (or gal) is selling (that’s the essential question, isn’t it?).
4. Good salespeople are good communicators. When I say good communicators, I don’t mean they’re good at communicating with people that think like them. I’m excellent at communicating with people who think like I do. Most people are. Great communicators are good at gauging what type of person they’re dealing with, and tailoring their communications to that persons needs. This is a skill that will help you in any walk of life, but I would guess this is usually present in the best sales people. One of the best communicators I know, in terms of sales, is my uncle (Gene). You can throw Gene in any situation, and he’ll develop a rapport that isn’t just based on the fact that the other people like him. People walk away from him, for whatever reason, trusting him. In the field he works in (consulting), that trust is essential if he’s going to be able to effectively sell his company’s services. What did I miss? Thanks for reading.
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I have a friend who started selling designer shoes at an upscale store and within weeks became the top salesman and sustained it for 3 months before leaving. They called him the “used-car salesman” because he was great at getting customers to purchase additional add-on features like socks belts, and leather-care materials. What made him great is that he gave the customer what they wanted. He told them what made them look best, so he build their trust and then explained why these additional products were necessary.
This is familiar. Did we have this conversation before the blog or because of the blog?