Sales

I think the word “sales” has a bad rap. Movies, stereotypes, and generalizations have tarnished its name.

In the old way, here’s how I think it went:

I have a thing I want to sell you to make money

My family depends on me making money

You are a walking bag of money

I pretend to care about what you want

I manipulate with partial truths and some dishonesty

My goal is to serve myself and my bottom line

You buy the thing

You have regrets

I don’t offer much followup

We pass each other on the street in a year and I look the other way

In the new way, I think it should go something like this:

I connect with you on a very authentic human level

We get to know each others’ businesses a bit

I tell you briefly about the thing I sell

I learn about what you want and make sure you’d even benefit

My goal is to help you and to demonstrate caring

We discuss the specifics of how you benefit, honestly

We look at pricing and payment options

You say yes (but I’m fine if you’d said no)

The followup support rocks and you feel continued caring

I ask if you know people who could benefit

You send a steady stream of qualified people my way

We go for lunch every six months, on me

Let’s work together to redefine “sales”!  🙂