A while back I was sent a youtube video called "A Few Good Salesmen." If any of haven't seen it, watch it right away. You will either love it or be offended by it - either way it is worth watching.
I bring this up because a lot of people have a bad impression of sales people and unfortunately rightfully so. No one likes to be sold, and although entertaining the late Billy Mays was he was not a sales person. He was a pitch man, not a salesman… there is a big difference. Additionally, in corporate America, sales people are disliked because of lavish bonuses and sometimes favoratism. My point and perspective is that sales is the only part of the business that generates revenue - everything else is overhead. The sales team pays for their own salary and arguably, your too… thank them the next time you get the chance. Lead generation is a close 2nd, depending on the organizational structure. I am in debt to my organization (figuratively) if you add up my salary, benefits and bonuses minus revenue generated, but we are just now getting past the start up phase and I am not too far behind the brake even point. Marketing is not a revenue generating group within an organization as their job (again depending on the organization) is to provide sales the necessary info (brochures, product info, flyers and other material) to close deals and generate revenue. Yes (I think I know what you are thinking) sale and marketing have to work hand-in-hand and going on step further, lead generation should be the bridge between sales and marketing, but that is another blog.
Back to the point. Sales people have a bad reputation for selling people (think of a used car sales person or Dwight from The Office) by not motivating people to buy. Here’s what I mean, people love to spend money, right? If you can do three things (the last being the most important), you should go far in sales. People will give you their ATM PIN if they trust you and no one will ever trust you if they don't like you, you can't get someone to like you unless you engage them. Forget about impressing them ... That what used car sales people and marketing do... instead engage them, ask them how they are doing and listen. On a cold call (another future blog) your first question should be “How are you?” – and LISTEN! Build some rapport, then some trust, and then you can motivate them to see the benefits, build the business case and to be the champion for you. More importantly, you will gain a trusted friend and advisor forever. I have connections that I have never sold anything to that have given me recommendations and still talk to on a regular basis...
I bring this up because a lot of people have a bad impression of sales people and unfortunately rightfully so. No one likes to be sold, and although entertaining the late Billy Mays was he was not a sales person. He was a pitch man, not a salesman… there is a big difference. Additionally, in corporate America, sales people are disliked because of lavish bonuses and sometimes favoratism. My point and perspective is that sales is the only part of the business that generates revenue - everything else is overhead. The sales team pays for their own salary and arguably, your too… thank them the next time you get the chance. Lead generation is a close 2nd, depending on the organizational structure. I am in debt to my organization (figuratively) if you add up my salary, benefits and bonuses minus revenue generated, but we are just now getting past the start up phase and I am not too far behind the brake even point. Marketing is not a revenue generating group within an organization as their job (again depending on the organization) is to provide sales the necessary info (brochures, product info, flyers and other material) to close deals and generate revenue. Yes (I think I know what you are thinking) sale and marketing have to work hand-in-hand and going on step further, lead generation should be the bridge between sales and marketing, but that is another blog.
Back to the point. Sales people have a bad reputation for selling people (think of a used car sales person or Dwight from The Office) by not motivating people to buy. Here’s what I mean, people love to spend money, right? If you can do three things (the last being the most important), you should go far in sales. People will give you their ATM PIN if they trust you and no one will ever trust you if they don't like you, you can't get someone to like you unless you engage them. Forget about impressing them ... That what used car sales people and marketing do... instead engage them, ask them how they are doing and listen. On a cold call (another future blog) your first question should be “How are you?” – and LISTEN! Build some rapport, then some trust, and then you can motivate them to see the benefits, build the business case and to be the champion for you. More importantly, you will gain a trusted friend and advisor forever. I have connections that I have never sold anything to that have given me recommendations and still talk to on a regular basis...
Good, no sorry, GREAT sales people are able to find the real reason that you want or need to buy something. You can’t sell ice to an Eskimo unless you first realize that all of their ice is contaminated or something like that. Really great sales people are able to understand you business, your needs and pains that you may not even realize. It doesn’t matter if you are selling the enterprise software, cars or the Awesome Auger – the point is to find out what the buying motive is and then help your future customer see the benefits. We get in trouble (sales people) when we find a pain and exploit it to sell a bunch of stuff they don’t need, or knowingly go through with a deal that we cannot deliver.
So you can do it this... Or you can take your contacts/prospects out for lap dances and try to expense them.
Just my $0.02 worth ;)
JS
