My grandfather, the Reverend Dale Holley, said he was in sales…fire escape sales. As a police detective, my younger brother said he sold perpetrators on admitting to their guilt and facing the consequences—sounds like a tough sales job to me. All of us, at some time, do our best to influence others—to sell them.
You may not be in the sales department, but if you communicate with clients, whether it’s customer service, installation, or design—you sell them.
Maybe you don’t interact with customers at work, but if you belong to a church, club, or charity and you try to influence people—you sell them.
I don’t want this to sound callous, but you influence your friends and family daily—you sell them.
Most of us continually strive to influence the people around us, and if that’s the case, we should do it right. Whether your customer is a friend, family, or client you should sell them for their benefit.
Treat Your Customer Right
• Sell what’s best for your customer not what’s good for you
• Listen to their problems and understand their needs
• Don’t be pushy and demanding—be persuasive not overbearing
When we attempt to sell others, whether it’s a client, friend, or child, we accept the responsibility of being a positive influence, of being helpful. If you want to make an impact, have others best interests at heart. If you try to influence others in a self-serving way, you’ll eventually have no one to sell. So let’s try this again. Are you in sales?
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It starts as early as 2 years old. When you persuade Mom to do something for you, you have “sold” her on the idea. Sales is more than a profession, it is an attitude and it is the impression you make on others. Nice work Randy. You sold me!
I was just saying this very thing Randy in a job interview at a law firm today. I did not have the very specific experience in developing new clients for legal services they were looking for, but I compared it to pitching stories to the media, soliciting donors for fundraising events and marketing in general.
You make some great points – especially about influencing others in a positive way. That’s the heart of customer service – and happy customers equal increased sales!