Nobody Likes A Salesman - Right?

Everyone I know loves to buy stuff.  My wife loves to buy stuff. My kids, my business partner, my neighbours, my friends.

Everybody has stuff in their house or home that they wanted and went out and bought.  Buying stuff we want is not a problem for any of us.

If you won the lottery today - how much shit would you buy tomorrow?  Some people have even planned it all out just in case they get lucky.

Imagine just booking a vacation?  We love to sift and sought through what is available - that is part of the experience.  What we really want, where to go and where to stay. We are mindful of the price, but in general we can’t wait to get it paid off because we want the vacation!

It is not just buying stuff we want we like doing.  Buying stuff we need is also not a problem. You need a new car - you sort it out and get one.  You need kids school shoes - you make the trip and come back with some. Your printer breaks - no problem - you go straight on Amazon.  

Some of this stuff is a chore - food shopping nobody loves to do because it sucks. Essential repairs are also a pain in the neck.  

In general - people buy shit every single day.  

So why when we put ourselves on the other end of this transaction - when we are the seller - is there some kind of shift to feeling uncomfortable?

Many people don’t even ask for the sale.  They talk through all the features and benefits.  They are in control of the whole transaction - yet about 70% of sales people never actually ask for the sale directly.

When you think about it - this is madness.  90% of it is in our own heads because we have at some point felt like we ourselves were being “sold” - and we didn’t like it.

There are countless books and courses and videos all about how to close the sale, how to unconsciously influence the customer to buy, how to upsell, twenty different closing techniques - you name it there is a book about it.

All of this stuff kind of goes against the “Good Guy” inside of us.  We don’t want to “sell” anyone. We don’t want to feel like we have tricked them into giving us their credit card.  So the whole salesman thing can feel a bit greasy.

When you start to convince someone to buy your shit from you, using false scarcity or some other trick you learned from a book then you are on a slippery pole to self loathing!  I know - I have been down that pole - only once - and it does not do your self respect any good.

The best way to overcome this is to simply serve your customers as some kind of consultant or advisor.  How would you sell your mom a new unit? I know she will get mates rates so price is not the issue - but how would you deal with her.  

You would simply tell her, share your knowledge.  The good and the bad. What to expect. What is it she wanted - and then match her needs and desires the best you could - advising her on the pros and cons of her choice.

That is how everyone wants to be dealt with.  They simply want to know what is best for them.  They are going to buy a new unit whatever - from you or from someone else.  

The guy that gets the deal is normally the guy that gives them the most information - and the guy they like and trust the most.

You think it is about price.  Let me tell you this - you have lost jobs in the past to someone else who charged more than your quotation.  That must hurt. They didn’t buy from you because there was something about the other guy they liked more. Simple.

So the best advice to give around selling is this - stop hard selling and hard telling.  Consult don’t convince. Advise don’t always be closing. Treat every sale like it is a friend of the family you want to genuinely help.

There is no trickery - only integrity.  You will get rich, and sleep well at night!