Hi, my name is Rob and I’m a Salesman!
There I said it. And guess what? I enjoy it.
Because as a Sales person I get to help people, every day.
Sales people have often been regarded as overly pushy, Alpha types that are like a dog with a bone once they get the scent of a sale.
I suppose in some industries that might work, but it’s a bit 1980’s really isn’t it? How to deal with objections, sell the benefits not the features…
Think for a moment about a sales situation where you bought something and you walked away really happy. Think about the sales person that you dealt with. I’d guess they were really helpful and not pushy at all. Right?
My own industry, Supply Chain and Logistics, has had pushy sales people for years. Particularly in the transport sector. But does it really work any more?
I attended a really cool webinar this morning about sales and marketing. Nothing mind blowing. Nothing Hi Tech. But there were some profound lessons in there, that were worth being reminded of.
It basically came down to this. Give before you ask for a sale. Give, give, give. Those who want to buy from you will step up when they are ready and when they have learnt to trust you.
People often ask me why we give away so much stuff in my businesses.
Well there are a few reasons really. And hey, this is 100% how I think OK.
- I like to give away stuff because it helps people. Books, Webinars, Seminars. Often they can’t afford our services, so I can help them in other ways with self learning materials.
- It builds trust. You need to build a relationship with someone before you try to sell them stuff! So we build that trust over the long term. When they need to buy our services, they’ll ask.
- Our business is 21 years old this year, has a good reputation, and is very healthy. We don’t need to ‘chase the sale’ all the time. We prefer to be selective in who we work with.
Are you a Sales person? Do you work with sales people? Do you ‘give’ before you try to sell?
Feel free to comment below.
All the Best,
Rob
Oh, if you are into Supply Chain stuff, you can jump onto this link and get a free book chapter if you like 🙂
It’s down the page a bit…
