Back to Basics: When the Thrill is Gone

 

There are days and weeks and even months in every salesperson's life when we wake up and don't have any idea where we're going today or even in life.
What do you do when that day comes?
When a football team starts to falter, the coaches take the team onto the practice field and they run, over and over again, the fundamentals that made them great: blocking, tackling, running, passing.  Over and over again.
And what is the selling equivalent of blocking and tackling?  It's talking to the people that have brought you to the level that you've reached.  It's talking to the good and loyal customers about their business--getting ideas from the discussion; it's talking to your managers and listening for ideas that they may have. 
Do not sit in your office and feel sorry for yourself.
Salespeople are natural talkers--like blocking for a football player.  Find your five best and loyal customers and go see them.  Listen to them.  Let them talk about their businesses and where they see their sales coming from.
Talk to your best customers and Listen Deeply to what they're saying.  This is guaranteed to get you out of your funk.

"I Hate Salesmen"

How often over the past 40 years have I heard that statement: "I hate salesmen".  My response is always--"what do you do for a living?"  The answers range from: "I'm a priest", "I'm a full time mom (or dad)", "I'm an auto mechanic", or "I'm a supervisor (or manager) at XYZ factory (or XYZ store)".

And then I launch into my lecture: "Everyone's a salesman".  

 

If you're a mom, you're always trying to convince someone (your husband, your kids) that your decisions or ideas or methods are the right ones.  When you do that, you're a salesman.  And when you truly believe what you're saying, you're a good salesman.

The same can be said for a floor manager in a store or factory.  Sales is a part of everyone's job--a minister or priest trying to convince people to follow biblical precepts, a cashier in a store trying to convince a customer to sign up for a loyalty card.  Sales is everything; salespeople are everywhere.  They just don't think they're selling.  But the components are there:

• Product knowledge (why should I sign up for your loyalty card?)

• Firm belief in the value of your product (a waiter who has eaten that special plate and vouches for its wonderfulness.

• Personal belief in the value of what you're trying to convince the other person: "you can't get that tatoo, you're only 3 years old".

The problem is that there are people out there who try to convince you about something that you know they don't believe in.  They are NOT true salespeople.  True salespeople believe in what they're selling.  What I called "transactional" salespeople are not true salespeople; they are NOT interested in the sale, or bringing a product or idea to you that will make you or your life or your company better.   They are interested in the commission or achieving a quota.

Relational salespeople are the only true salespeople and when you hear the statement "I hate salesmen", you should challenge it.  Sales is a noble profession and we should be proud that we are part of it.

What does it mean to "sell a song"

Alicia Keys: true salesperson

We occasionally hear the phrase: "She (or he) really knows how to sell that song".  What does that mean?
Any salesperson who understands what it means to really "sell a song" will understand what it means to truly sell a refrigerator or grinding tool or insurance policy.
It means that you believe so strongly in what you are saying (or singing) that you can convince your audience (or customer) he should buy your product (the song or the refrigerator).  A singer who cannot sell his song is boring; when you hear a song that is just being sung and not being sold, you turn it off.
This is the same in sales.  If you can't believe in what you're selling, your customer will be bored--will turn you off and you won't make the sale.
If you don't believe in what you're selling, you need to find another product or another profession.
If you do believe in what you're selling--if you believe it will change your customer's life, or his business, or the world, reach into your soul and SELL IT, just like a singer sells a song.