When you truly understand what it means to sell, there will be no other reward in business better than selling.
Selling is like winning a battle for a military general, scoring a goal for a footballer, or saving a life for a hostage negotiator.
But unlike these three examples, making sales is unique for this reason:
There is no loser.
For a military general to win, a military general must lose.
For a footballer to score a goal, a goalkeeper must concede a goal.
For an FBI negotiator to free a hostage, the criminal must lose their freedom.
When sales are made because it is the right thing to do, both the buyer and you, the seller, win.
Here is why:
For any sale to take place, the buyer must feel like the value exceeds the price, while the seller must feel like the price exceeds the value (in this case, the cost to fulfil those services and more importantly, the result).
Buyers will not buy when they do not win, and you won’t be able to keep selling if you don’t win.
This is a profound idea when you fully grasp it.
There are no losers when a sale is made, for as long as both parties act with good intentions.
And that there, of course, is the kicker.
So what does good intentions look like?
Well, that part is easy if you’re a good person, but chances are, you haven’t ever listed that out.
Here is my shortlist to get your own sales philosophy going:
1. To sell is to lead, so lead the person you’re advising only to a place which provides hope, opportunity, and possibility. Under no circumstance, should you ever lead toward despair, loss, or heartache.
2. There are only two outcomes a salesperson should pursue — to force a decision, or to delay one. Which one you choose will depend on the needs of the person you’re advising and whichever way you go, it should be in their best interests.*
3. The sale is not about you, It’s about them.
4. Because it’s your job to see if you two are the right fit for each other, you should be listening 80+% of the time, and speaking only to ask effective questions, advise, make recommendations, clarify responses, and summarise if a good fit exists. Be quick to listen, slow to answer.
5. How would you like to be treated if the roles were reversed? “Thy neighbour” comes to mind.
5. Only make an offer if you can hand-on-heart, promise that you can help them achieve what’s important to them.
It’s a simple shortlist, but I’ve been applying this philosophy for years. I’ve been teaching it the exact same way.
When your sales philosophy is governed by principles and NOT scripted tactics, you won’t just become more effective at sales, but you’ll break through your own BS that for whatever reason, makes the thought of sales slimy.
Which in my experience, is the biggest reason why sales don’t get made, and ultimately…
You don’t serve the person you could have helped.
But that’s a story for another email.
If you want a sales philosophy that isn’t governed by your own misconceptions about what sales actually is, then you’ll love this month’s edition of the Alley-Oop. I’ll be diving into the framework responsible for allowing you to unshackle from the negative associations about ‘selling’ and reframing yourself as an advisor to make sales feel effortless (and trust me, it should feel that way… if you’re going into sales conversations feeling anxious, or even procrastinating about having a conversation with a stranger, you’re mind-frame is all messed up** and you need to start with that).
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– Karl Goodman
