Assuming that you feel in your heart, have thought it through clearly, and have determined that professional selling is what you want to do, you must make a total commitment and never let your ego convince you to stop. You must persevere until you become a true professional.
It takes two years to master and internalize all of the necessary skills, knowledge, habits, and processes. You must remember that all of this effort will be neutralized unless you align your attitude with professional selling. That is the crown jewel of our program. We have the only known formula to find and eliminate the roadblocks that prevent capable willing individual salespersons from achieving complete mastery and performance.
To reach your full potential you must become as expert in understanding people as you are expert in what you are selling.
Before I begin to explain what that means I want you to understand the different ways that things are sold, and people are influenced.
The Salesperson Becomes the Prospect’s Personal Servant
The prospect controls the process, the decision and even the salesperson. This is the most common way that things are sold because the majority of salespersons are untrained and insecure. A good example of this is when the prospect uses the sales person as a research center. They ask questions and the salesperson answers them like a dutiful servant. They request special and multiple services, such as many quotes for different possibilities. Of course, the salesperson is happy to comply believing that this will lead to a sale and it rarely does.
This is a pathetic way to earn one’s living. It’s demoralizing, destructive on the individual and eventually leads to demoralization, struggling finances and/or leaving the profession. It can also wear down the individual to a dangerous level which often leads to poor health, job jumping and possibly addictions. I am ashamed to say that this was me before I found and learned what I now can offer to you.
The Salesperson Becomes the Dictator
The salesperson controls both the process and the decision. This is the second most common way that things are sold. It requires a person with a compromised conscience. The standard process is to use whatever method will work to wear down a prospect and make them give up. Integrity, facts, credibility and honest fulfillment don’t matter. The sale is seen as a confrontation and “I’m going to win and you’re going to lose.” This does work on some people but not on all of them.
This is the worst possibility of all because it’s unnatural. It goes against the grain of how people behave. No one wants to be told what to do. You can prove this to yourself by observing a child between the ages of two to five. This example needs no further explanation, you will see my point clearly as you experience it.
This type of selling leaves everyone unfulfilled. The customer feels cheated in the end and often expresses this fact in reversing their decision to buy. I can share with you my own personal experience in buying a Mercedes coupe. I encountered such a salesperson. I’m a very busy person and my lease was up on my car. I wasn’t a hundred percent happy with the car that I was turning back and not totally sure that I wanted another Mercedes. In the interest of time I let this salesperson take an order for the same type of car. The transition was over in probably 30 minutes. I left feeling stupid and cheated. The next morning, I called the sales manager and cancelled my contract. I went back to the dealership, worked with the sales manager and bought an upscale version of the same car, that I can say is the best car I have ever owned.
This experience left me with such a negative feeling that I will never use that dealership again. I may buy another Mercedes but not from that place. They have lost a customer for life and of course I share this experience with others.
The sales person is also unfulfilled. They go after the next kill and the same sick process goes on. That is one of the main reasons that the buying public has such a dim view of salespeople.
Our next blog will discuss the final, and best way to sell things.
