Tell Your Salespeople to Stop Selling

“No one likes to be sold; everyone likes to buy.”

Professional sales people get a bad rap. Sales is an honorable profession, but it has been sullied by poor practitioners of the craft . . . sales people who are determined to make the sale regardless of the needs and wants of the customer. We’ve all run into pushy sales people who are clearly more interested in their commission than they are in helping us. So they lose our trust.

The fact is, good sales people are problem solvers. They ask questions, they listen intently to the answers, and they get a clear picture of the problem the customer is trying to solve. In some cases, the sales person may have to say, “I understand what you’re trying to do, but I don’t think our product (or service) is the right answer for you.” Of course, that loses the sale today, but it earns the respect and trust of the customer. Is that customer likely to bring you back the next time he has an appropriate need? You bet! Is s/he likely to feel comfortable referring you to others? Absolutely!

Contrast that with the poor sales person who is motivated by self-interest and will try to fit a square peg into a round hole to make the sale. S/he loses the trust of the customer, may very well lose future opportunities, and almost certainly will not get any referrals.

Hopefully, your sales people are not “selling” in the worst sense of the word. Instead they should be creating a trusting relationship, allowing the customer to buy with confidence and enthusiasm.

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