Make the Sale

This week is my dad’s birthday. Words cannot express how grateful I am for his helping provide for our family with his position in sales.

I’ve talked before about the advice he’s given me when it comes to learning to listen to people, asking the right questions, and appreciating the stories they tell. Though I still am hesitant to join ongoing conversations to this day, I have a lot more confidence and know-how when it comes to socializing with others.

Recently, my dad has come to me with the proposition of writing a book together with him. He would dictate stories he’d tell while advising sales representatives, and I would write them down. The book would be done in the style of something like Robert Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power, with each chapter containing a story with a lesson at the end of it. It’ll be titled something like “Lessons for Sales Representatives” or something like that. Though the idea is still in its embryonic stage, dad and I have some ideas for chapters that I’d like to share here today.

One part of selling that challenges newer sales representatives is their tendency toward what dad’s co-worker calls “commission breath.” It’s where the sales representatives’ main focus is on making the sale instead of helping the prospect. Before they gain experience, many sales reps concentrate on the products they sell above everything else. Indeed, it seems almost intuitive to think this way. After all, they get paid to sell the products.

Remember, these sales reps’ goal is to help their prospect, not selling products. The prospect is looking for goods that will benefit him. Nothing else interests him. Whenever a sales rep goes down the list of products he represents, he risks boring the prospect with all these nice-sounding but useless bells and whistles.

It’s important to have an idea of what the prospect wants above all else before making a recommendation. For this to happen, the sales rep will have to do less talking and more listening. The sales rep needs to ask questions to become familiar with what the prospect is looking for, what his industry is like, what problems he may be having, and so on. All of this helps the sales rep get an idea of what the prospect wants or needs.

Another important part of sales is understanding the prospect’s sense of urgency and gaining his commitment. The sales rep must probe into the prospect’s reasons for having whatever business goals he has in mind. Perhaps he has a family to provide for, a charity or church to donate to, or a personal dream he’s looking to achieve. Getting the prospect thinking about the result he wants is helpful because, at the end of the day, the prospect hopes the recommendation will propel him toward that result. To the prospect, the recommended product is only a tool for achieving their desired result. Associating the product with this end goal is how best to serve the prospect.

Listening to the prospect to learn what he wants and why he wants it requires a friendly, tactful approach that places the wants and needs of the prospect first. It emphasizes listening to the prospect over lecturing him. This is the approach that I took when I worked at Marble Slab Creamery. I always made sure to cater to the prospect’s desires. When they wanted something, I gave it to them. When they said something, I listened. I always put all of my enthusiasm behind what I was doing, maybe give a show to the children as I made ice cream in front of them.

My dad’s advice is useful for people in all kinds of businesses – whether it’s selling business services or ice cream. That’s why I hope the book idea that we’re working on has a broad appeal. I’m so happy to embark on this new adventure with my dad. Stay tuned!