Excerpted from the book, Business Black Belt
We’ve all been watching TV pretty much since it came into being. We’ve all watched commercials as they’ve evolved. We’ve all seen and heard a variety of sales pitches, scams, and rip-offs, to the point that we are fine-tuned to fending them off. Now, a clean, straightforward sales representation is refreshing, unique, and effective.
My product won’t work for you
Since I realized the fact that my customers were buying from me, I could be really honest with them. If a product was not good for them, I could say, “In fact, a competitor has what you really need.” It blew my mind when I told a customer to buy my competitor’s product, but I felt better about it because I was doing my customer an honest service in the interest of getting them what they really needed and making them happy. (That’s another reason to always know about your competitors’ products—not just to prove yours are better, but to know where they fit.) One customer later told me how relieved he was that I stopped pitching my product, because we both knew I was swimming against the current. As a result, he knew he could rely on me to seek his best interests. He wanted to do more business with me with other things. He did, plus he sent me referrals.
I’ve said this before, but let’s look at it again. I’m putting my finger on something that you may have had a feeling about but weren’t sure that you could actually do. You know when a salesman is giving you the run-around. You just have a bad feeling. When a car salesperson introduces himself with “If I make you a deal today, will you buy it today?” a sense inside you says, “Whoa, I’m just starting to look at cars. Does this mean you’re not going to help me?” (The salesperson is trained to qualify you—are you really a buyer or just a tire-kicker? How much time should he or she invest? Unfortunately, the cynicism comes across.)
We need to overcome the inherent conflict of interest in sales. Get rid of the idea that you don’t make any money if you don’t sell to a customer now. Selling needs to come from an interest in helping your customer first and making money on the deal second. This makes a world of difference in sales success. After I started doing that, my sales doubled immediately and I started enjoying my work.
That’s the difference between a good salesman and a bad one these days. Until you get this fundamental point, you’re never going to be a really successful salesperson. The ones who do get this are excellent. Sales seem to come easily to them. This new breed of salespeople can be honest and make money in the process.
