I’ve never felt comfortable pursuing a position in sales because the image of the unscrupulous used car salesman always came to mind. I didn’t want to appear sleazy and push people to buy something that they didn’t really need or couldn’t afford. I expressed this concern to my coach after I started my coaching practice and after some probing questions, two things emerged. First, I was already a sales person and second, I wasn’t sleazy.
What I began to realize is that we all sell something. We “sell” our ideas and beliefs all the time. We engage in the art of persuasion in our jobs, in our homes, in many different ways. When I find a great product to wash my clothes with, I tell others. By giving the product a good review, I’m “selling” the product to someone else, and there’s nothing sleazy about it. It’s the way we communicate and share our knowledge and experiences with each other. We help others make decisions based upon our positive or negative experiences. We can only “sell” if there is a “buyer”. If there is something that a person is seeking – guidance, direction, information, or a tangible product, they are the buyer and they are looking for someone to provide them with what they want or need. So the seller is simply fulfilling the buyer’s need. I’m not an Economics guru, but I understand the basic premise of supply and demand. The seller or sales person is simply supplying what the buyer is demanding from the marketplace.
Luke 11:5-10 in the New Living Translation of the Bible tells us to ask and continue asking and eventually we will receive. It says to seek and keep seeking until you find what you’re looking for. It says to knock and keep knocking until someone opens the door. So to me, it’s the foundation upon which sales of any sort rests. To achieve any goal, you have to be persistent. You have to know what you’re goal is so you know what to ask for. You have to know what your goal is so you can seek out the resources to help you find your answers. You have to knock on doors until the person(s) who can help you answer. This doesn’t mean it’s okay to push a defective product over on someone. It doesn’t mean to get the sale no matter what. What it means to me, is that whatever your goal is – selling a product or a service, helping someone or looking for help with a problem, you can achieve it if you keep pursuing it.
Just be mindful that your pursuit is about helping someone achieve his/her goal(s). When a seller is only interested in selling a good or service, he/she runs the risk of ignoring the potential buyer’s goal(s). When selling is about providing a great product with integrity, there’s a synchronicity that develops and long lasting relationships are built. When the seller is totally focused on the sale, they may get THAT sale, but alienate the buyer so in the future, the buyer will seek out another supplier.
Remember, although it is true you when you seek, you will find, ask and it is given, knock and the door will be opened, but know when to seek a new avenue, ask someone different, and when to try another door.
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