I hate selling, mainly because I hate being sold at. That doesn’t mean I don’t buy things, I definitely do, but I like to feel like I’m in the driving seat, not being driven to a destination I’m not sure I want to be at.
I know people who can sell ice to the Eskimos, but only once. I’m not interested in single sales, it makes much more sense to have repeat sales, one ‘sale’ and then people keep buying.
That’s usually because they’ve done that thing all the networking groups talk about – know, like, trust. It’s all about relationships.
It’s about telling people enough that they want to buy – and there’s the difference.
Back in the dark ages when I learned sales skills (selling hotel function facilities, then bottles of pop in two different roles, where I was sent on a sales course), I learned all about features and benefits. I was told that you can’t just explain what the product is, but what it does AND how that benefits the customer.
I think today’s selling isn’t quite so structured. Yes, there are still elements of all that, but strong businesses work because their customers like the person they’re dealing with and have built a relationship. The supplier is someone they can call up and ask for help when the going gets tough and feels like a part of their team.
It’s not just “Here’s a product that will be £50 please!”
It’s more “What do you need the product to do? OK, have you thought about product X – it does everything you need, and is a bit cheaper?” or “You could save more time if you used X instead, even though it’s a bit more expensive, you’ll get that back in the first production run.”
In other words, it’s about the supplier understanding their customer well enough to make intelligent suggestions.
When you’re meeting a potential customer, it’s important to get to know them as people as well as their needs as a customer. Back in the hotel sales department we were forbidden to talk business with potential clients over lunch. We had to find some common ground and get to know them, whether it was their love of sailing, golf addiction or their newest grandchild. It’s not a bad strategy, the better you know your client, the more comfortable they will feel and the more likely that they will actually want to work with you.
