Do you believe that selling really is simple?

Published: Tue, 05/21/19

Selling Really is Simple!

by Dave Kahle

Now that I’ve punctured your misconceptions about what sales is, and given you some ideas about what sales is not, it’s time to hone in on the good stuff. Here are a number of different definitions to help you come to grips with what selling really entails.

1. Selling is the science of helping people get what they want.

If your prospective customer doesn’t want or need what you are offering - if it doesn’t fill some need in the customer - then you have no business engaging in the selling process with him.

Now don’t get too hung up on the definition of “need.” If we define that too narrowly, it would eliminate everything except food and shelter. Our needs and wants are ever-expanding, and include things that make us feel good or fill some emotional need as well those that meet our basic needs. We may not really need a caramel cream latte, but thousands are purchased every day. It makes us feel good.

While selling is what you do, and you can do it better, it is still less about you and more about your customer.

2. Selling is the process of helping people make decisions that often lead them to purchase from you.

Effective selling begins with an understanding that it is about influencing the decisions of the customer. In other words, the ultimate location for the sales process is the mind and heart of the customer. Very few sales situations involve only one decision. One decision leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to the decision to buy.

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Here’s an example I often use to illustrate this point. Let’s take one of the simplest selling situations with which I have ever been involved – selling water softeners to homeowners. This is a classic “one-call close.” In other words, there is only one sales call necessary to help the customer make a decision. You either sell it when you see them, or you don’t sell it at all.

Sounds simple. But even that simple, one-call sales process is quite a bit more involved, when examined through the perspective of the decisions that the customer must make. Look at the illustration below.

To initiate the process, the company must advertise and make themselves appear to be a reputable solution for hard water problems. The customer lives in the land of apathy and ignorance. In other words, they don’t know the sales person or the company, and that’s fine with them. Their life is OK without them. So, they are ignorant of the company and apathetic about it.

The first decision the customer must make is whether or not to call the company. The company hopes to influence that decision by the quality of its advertising, as well as its reputation in the market.

Let’s say the customer decides in the affirmative, and calls the company. Now, the customer has a sales person on the phone. The customer now must make a decision as to whether or not to interact honestly with the sales person. If the sales person seems rude, arrogant, or uninterested, the customer may decide to call someone else. Some get that impression, and terminate the call. Others decide...[Read More]

Featured Podcast:

Five Mistakes Sales People Make

Part 1

Dave discusses Mistake #1:

Being overconcerned with strategy instead of tactics.

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