Life is Sales
I often find myself people watching as I work in coffee shops. A parent trying to explain to their toddler why it is not okay to scream at the top of her voice. The owner showing his employee how the coffee has to be brewed in a certain manner. The teenage girl offering coy glances to the guy next to me all dressed in leather and tattoos. The man in a suit to my right, chatting on the phone with a potential client, answering their questions. The puppy at my feet staring at me patiently hoping I might drop some crumb.
Too often, as contractors, we associate sales with the slicked back hair, polyester suit of the hollywood 70’s car salesman, when in fact you and I sell each and every day of our lives. When my wife and I decide to go to a movie this evening, I really wanted to go see 10,000 bc. I spent 10 minutes carefully steering us towards the movie I was excited to see. Any time you have an interest in the outcome of a situation, sales comes into play.
I love watching the kindergardener in the grocery store trying to explain to his father how “cool” the super frosted chocolate sugar cakes are. Sales is an inherent part of basic communication. We have speech to communicate, in order to build consensus. How do you build consensus? You share the reasoning and value of your perceptions.
Stop Talking and Listen
I meet too many independent contractors who turn sales into the gigantic boogie man. Sales is nothing but a conversation. A place where you listen, and if you happen to be lucky, you have he opportunity to be of service. I always genuinely appreciate someone who has the ability to solve a problem I am facing. So quit trying to talk. Just keep asking yourself, can I help this person?
Service is Sales
Yesterday Peter had lunch with a new client who in the course of dialog, enthusiastically recommended her mortgage broker. Karen shared that the broker actually connected her directly with a lender because he knew she would get a better deal. Now she swears by her broker and trusts him with literally millions of dollars. Often I’ve found that by placing someone’s interest before your own, by truly helping them if it is in your power, you build a bridge of trust that lasts a lifetime. You achieve a sale the same way you make a friend. You earn their trust.
Life Sales
Perhaps it is time that we stop separating sales from life. That we accept that every conversation is one of listening and of sharing. That earning a new client, picking a home with your spouse, getting your children to brush their teeth, convincing your surf buddy to go a noon instead of two. That life is sales.
I never thought of it that way, that lots of things in life are sales, but it does make sense. I think the bad association with sales happens when people are being pressured to buy things they don’t need or want. When I try to sell something, I think it’s important to offer only what the potential client needs and try not to let fancy stuff get in the way. If they ask for something we don’t think they need, we are totally honest and tell them so.
I totally agree though, if you are really trying to be helpful and not just make a sale, it doesn’t feel like selling anymore. It just feels like helping out.
I’m with you on de-mystifying sales and drawing the correlary to everyday life stuff…
BUT my calm cool collected demeanor goes to cr*p as soon as we get to the part of the sales conversation regarding $$CASH MONEY$$. How do I carry that same attitude (Hey, you have a problem, i have a solution we all get along great) through to the signing of the contract?
This might be hyperbole. Does the transactional nature of ‘work’ necessitate some kind of adversarial relationship? How do I avoid the “one party wins – one loses” version of the sales relationship?
ps. I love the sproutwire sidebar widget. it is beeeautiful!
I like how you describe sales as just a conversation. I’ve heard an even better word for it: influence.
Even people who are not out for the money or economic gain, need to be aware of influence. Non-profits need people to “buy into” an idea, whether it be attending a free concert, or donating their time and money to a cause.
There’s an excellent book out about the topic from a professor named Cianaldi, and recommended by Charlie Munger, which helps describe how people are influenced, for better or worse.
Karen, you mean “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion“?
A “punching” article into my face, really. Indeed, life is sales.
It reminds me about the basic of getting stuff. The era when human are bartering stuff. Nowadays, we have gateway to exchange thing or services which called as money.
Being confidence (not cocky, of course) in conversation also created some values to the conversation. It makes “magic”. IMHO, selling is an art of life. “Without life, I can’t sell anything. Without sales, my life is nothing” …
I agree, life is sales.
It’s actually funny how we like to separate our lives in different parts: work / life, business / life separating the business part outside the rest of our lives when actually they are not quite so separate.
@ Reid – ok – you bring some honesty I bet everyone can relate to in the dialog. Basically, it’s all good to call it a chat until my rent is on the line. And you are right, when you are truly in need of money, it is hard to have a balanced dialog. Advice? Tough call, I wish I had better. In the end you’ve got to let it go. The best secret to sales I have ever had – 3 months of living cost in cash in my savings account. Seeing that money there really takes the edge off. It is not a fortune, nor even enough padding if you ask me, but it is enough for me personally to remove my focus from myself. Once I know I am okay if I don’t make the sale, the whole thing becomes way more whimsical.
@ Karen – I actually have that book on my self in my reading queue! Have to finish the myth of entrepreneurship, obama’s second book, bounce, then the psychology of persuasion.
@Dityo – you know – I’d forgetten all about the days of bartering. You are so right. We use to have sales built into the fundamental dialog of each transaction. By having labeled prices on all our goods we have fallen out of habit. When I lived in the middle east, you bargained on everything!
@ Jarkko – you are wise my friend! oh the boundaries we build for ourselves
if someone does something they initially didn’t want to then you are a salesmen… dating is selling, so we are salespeople at the end of the day, some of admit it…