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The Five "Terrible Lies"
About Selling
© 2003 By
Len Foley
Terrible Lie #1: You need to sell more to make more
money.
Fact: You need to sell less to make
more money.
I have a motto: In order to sell more, you must first learn
to sell less, a whole lot less. Sound crazy?
I have a friend who just moved from selling photocopier
machines to selling Mercedes-Benzes in the most prestigious
dealership in New England. His secret? While
selling photocopiers, he did the exact opposite of what
everyone else in his company as doing: he focused less on
"selling" and more on why his customers wanted to
buy.
In fact, he stopped selling altogether and made his mission
to discover precisely how he could solve more problems for
his customers than anyone else in his company. He not
only solved more problems, he made more money, and opened up
more opportunities than any other "copier
salesman" in his industry.
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Terrible Lie #2: Most salespeople are "full of
themselves"
Fact: The world's best salespeople
are full of other people.
In my seminars, I play a little game with the audience. I
say: "It's the last week of the month and you haven't
made half your quota. Your boss in on your case, and
you may lose your job if you don't make three sales in the
next two hours.
"Okay? So it's 9:30 in the morning and you NEED
to make a sale, you pick up the phone to make your first
call...
"And here's my question: What in the world is going
through your head as you dial the telephone?"
The typical responses from the audience: "I
wonder if I'll make this sale... I hope she says yes... This
call better not turn out like the rest... etc."
And to these responses I ask: "And as long as you're
thinking about yourself, how interested will you be in
finding out how you can help your prospect?"
The typical answer: "Not too interested at all!"
"And if you're not interested in your prospect," I
add. "Why in the world would your prospect ever become
interested in YOU?
Terrible Lie #3: Selling is one of the worst paid
professions
on the planet.
Fact: Selling is the highest paid
profession on the planet.
After spending thousands of hours studying some of the
richest salespeople alive (people like Steve Jobs, Larry
Ellison, and Mary Kay Ash), I came upon two very surprising
realizations:
1. The world's greatest salespeople never "appear"
to be selling anything at all (in fact, you'll never catch a
great salesperson making any irritating sales pitches or
initiating a single close).
2. And despite the fact the world's greatest salespeople
don't "appear" to be selling anything, they still
manage to outsell every one of their competitors! Note: most
people don't think of successful business executives and
celebrities as salespeople; in fact, when most of us think
of a typical salesperson we
think of a "pushy" used car salesman or an
annoying insurance rep. But these so-called
"salespeople" aren't really salespeople at all,
they're professional peddlers (cashiers in fancy suits).
Which leads us to Terrible Lie #4:
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Terrible Lie #4: Great salespeople use slimy tactics.
Fact: The world's best salespeople
hardly use any tactics
at all.
Selling (in the traditional definition of the word) is a
crude, simple-minded pursuit, it's using deceptive gestures,
words,
and emotional appeals that persuade and manipulate our
prospects into doing something he may (or may not) want to
do.
Now, do you really think Steve Jobs became one of the most
beloved CEO's in the world using ridiculous, simple-minded
sales tactics?
Or what about Mary Kay Ash? Could you imagine her
using "Leading Questions" or a "Porcupine
Close" on national TV?
Of course not! The world's greatest salespeople
wouldn't be caught dead using any kind of crude, slimy
selling techniques... They interact with thousands (and even
millions) of people each year; they make the most money...
attract the most opportunities... and effortlessly rise
to the top of every profession...
Terrible Lie #5: Great salespeople have the gift of gab.
Fact: The world's best salespeople
have the gift of listening.
Professional salespeople also enjoy listening to their
prospects (they're not simply waiting for their turn to
speak); they never look for what their prospects can do for
THEM; but are intensely interested in what they can do for
their prospects!
==> If you're curious about a few more
"terrible lies" taught in many sales programs,
check out my free article: "The Top Five (Most Idiotic)
Sales Techniques" for more information:
http://www.21stcenturysalestraining.com/idiotictechniques2.htm
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Also if you'd like to learn "Why Almost Everything
You've Been Taught About Selling is Wrong... DEAD
WRONG!" Check out:
http://www.21stcenturysalestraining.com
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