Being a Salesman First

[inthemaking]

Being a Salesman First

This is an idea that was brought to my attention recently. The idea that you should always be a "salesman" first, before anything else. This comment can turn some people off right away. The word "salesman" can mean a lot of things I guess.
But I was listening to two personal coaches talk about this. They are in a interesting situation because they deal with people on a very personal level. And being a "salesman" to them first may seam somewhat unethical or dishonest. But thats due to the conditioning we have received towards the word "salesman". But they were speaking of it in terms of it being the persuasion of a thought or belief. The need to have someone believe in you and what you can do before you do it. In their field this is very important. You could be the best personal coach in the world, but if people don't believe in you then you will not have an affect or get clients. So they have to "sell" in the sense of being able to convince that the client can be helped, and that they can help them.

It is an interesting thought. Because if you make the word "salesman" broad enough you can see it apply in almost every aspect of your life.

I never thought of myself as being a "salesman" first in my cleaning business. I have enough accounts right now and I am not looking for more work at the moment. But, that does not mean I shouldn't be a "salesman" first. What if I screw something up? I need to explain to my client why it happened and what I can do to fix it. If I am a "salesman" first, then I can do this in the best possible way. A way in which I persuade them to see my side of things, and "sell" to them, in a sense, my reason. If they "buy it", then I'm off the hook. For now at least. Now I am a very honest guy, and the thought of selling the truth seems somewhat strange. But when you think of what selling really is, a transference of a thought or idea, then it makes sense. Even though something may be the truth, it doesn't mean that it wont need some extra oomph to get the point across. And that is where being a salesman first comes in handy. And the more I thought of it the more it clicked in my head.

If a good car salesman is having a really bad day, does that mean he will go out on the lot and be rude to everybody? No. He has to be a salesman, if he acted on the basis of what he was feeling he wouldn't sell any cars. This is not unethical, its common sense. Its called being a professional.

Bottom line is that the art of persuasion is a very powerful and needed tool.
It can be used for good or bad. But if your good at it, and you do it for the right reasons, I think you could be unstoppable.

What are your thoughts on this?

,Jerry

[Xanifur]

I agree.

You always do selling, whether you realize it for not. Job interviews, selling, teaching, persuading, you have to sell to others, or "sell" your ideas

[ChadFraz]

Hello all,

I graduated from Purdue University with a BS in Selling and Sales Management. This is one of the few Universities that offer a degree of this type (quickly increasing). I am a registered stock broker and real estate agent currently and my day job consists of building a Sales Force for a start-up Internet company. The following are my thoughts in terms of "salesmen."

There is a common stigma related to the term "salesmen," which I feel, must be dispelled. Most associate this term with door to door salesmen, car salesmen and the general "sleezy" salesmen persona which most relate too quickly. In all honesty, I agree that there are those type of salesmen out there and they increase the negative conotations that most think of. However, the majority are good, hardworking business-people that fall prey to these stereotypes.
Something that most don't realize is that you are selling yourself, first and foremost in business. Like stated above, you must show people they can trust you. You sell yourself, the idea, the business, your drive, the product, service, etc. If you can't sell yourself, you will have no chance in selling the service/product you are working towards. The idea that a salesmen is only trying to push a product and make his commission is outdated as well. When I personally sell, I am looking to solve a problem for my client. I use a method called SPIN selling which allows for the salesmen to find the customers problems and offering them a solution:

S-ituation (probing, finding out what stage they are in the business cycle)
P-roblem (locating a problem they are facing in relation to your services)
I-mplication (examining how it affects their business adversely)
N-eeds Payoff (How can what you offer help them in terms of their problem/implication)

Realistically, there is no possible way to get ahead in business without having good salespeople working for you. My father is an engineer with his own Civil Engineering business. He has some of the most intelligent people I know working for him, but they can't sell a thing because they lack the intrapersonal skills necessary. It's a separate skill set that any company needs. If you think about it more practically, what is one job position that EVERY business needs? The answer to that is someone to sell the product/service. If you can find me a business that doesn't need a salesman, I applaud you.

I do agree that there are salesmen with poor ethics and values out there, but I think you will find that with any profession. The salespeople are the face of the company and the general contact so the stereotypes affect salespeople directly.

I apologize for the lack of direction this post contains, I am writing it at an auction block looking for new cars. I hope everyone realizes how important it is to have good salespeople and the stereotypes regarding these people aren't necessarily all true.

Thanks,

Chad