Fearless Selling: Mastering the Taboo Art of Selling
Of all the skills you can learn as a business profession, selling is by far the most important. No matter where you are, it’s all sales. However, due to street vendors and high-pressure sales tactics, many people see it as very taboo.
My hope is that this article gives you a better insight into what sales really is and how it can greatly affect your career if you are in the corporate world or if your business is an entrepreneur. At the end of the day, it all comes down to how well you can sell.
The first rule of thumb when trying to make a sale is to know why you’re trying to do it in the first place. If you’re doing it just to make money, then you’ve already lost. Your role is to add value to your prospect’s life. Your product or service must benefit them in some way that no other product or service can. Your goal is to make your prospect more confident, richer, better, or happier, depending on what you have to offer.
The next rule of thumb is that you need to look beyond what your product is and see what it will do for your customer in the future. For example, if you’re in the web development industry, you’re not creating a website for a potential client: you’re giving them a retirement plan. Your goal is for your new website to bring them new business, which will then lead to wealth and eventually a better quality of life. When you understand the benefits of your product, you can sell it better.
Ultimately, learning to sell is about building relationships. Your relationship with a prospect or client doesn’t end when you close the deal. On the contrary, a good salesperson makes sure to build a lasting relationship. It’s not just because the customer can buy from you again, but because you’re in the business of making people’s lives better! It’s those salespeople that are “done and working” that make the profession look bad.
In conclusion, when you understand that a salesperson is a profession that is geared towards helping other people live a better life, you will begin to see it in a whole new light. It’s a taboo art that really doesn’t have to be, and a skill that will continue to change lives every day!