An Important Attitude Regarding Sales and the Subject of “Help”

Sales Attitudes

I recently wrote an internal memo to our marketing department regarding my attitude towards servicing customers when they first get in touch with us. There is an entire technology of information that has been well defined on the subject of sales. Often lingo is used like “hot and cold leads” referring to the general intention of a client in regards to wanting to buy something (hot lead) at the present moment, or if the goal is to try to “convince” them otherwise (cold lead).

I can count so many times in my career that I was genuinely excited about getting into a new market with my business and calling a company for help only to be greeted by a sales person. The moment I mention I am interested in the product I almost feel pounced upon. Even worse, it makes me feel obligated to buy something just to try and get the information I need. The following is a snippet from that memo:

“It’s no secret the e-cigarette industry is exploding and many businesses have questions they wish to have answered. We can be the solution to many of those questions, and clients should be welcomed not with the attitude to make a sale, but instead to bring clarity to this industry and find out if we are the right fit to service them.”

This is something that not only I feel very strongly towards, but also something my wife and I hold as core values. We constantly strive to instill this in the staff around us because at all times every employee in this company is a sales person to some degree. The core trait employees of any business should have is a deep respect and support for whatever product or service the company they work for is offering. This should then naturally migrate into the attitude of bringing clarity and support to those that are interested in working with us. Sales come naturally when people feel welcome and don’t feel obligated to purchase when they come for assistance. It’s also a fantastic recipe for loyalty when you want people to work with you through the good times and the bad.

I am proud to go against the corporate norm in areas I feel are done improperly, and this is a subject I think a lot of businesses could learn to do better. These guidelines are meant for true professionals and are the sum of my 17 years of sales. These will do no good for people if they have a short term attitude. I would therefore suggest the following traits and attitudes when it comes to hiring people that you intend to work with for the life of the business in general and more specifically with staff that work in sales.

General traits:

1. An understanding of the vision of the company and the benefits the product or service you offer has when purchased by the public or other businesses.
2. An agreement with that vision and benefit that is there. Why? Simply because the person believes in it. Not because they are compensated monetarily to feel that way, but because they just do.
3. An understanding that how an employee conducts themselves at all times reflects on that company and that they have the power to both improve or damage a company’s reputation with ease.
4. An understanding that professionalism comes in many forms, and to understand the difference very clearly between ones conduct and once style on how they accomplish tasks.
5. Make sure people fall in love with what they do and recognize that just like love, people can change over time and sometimes need new challenges.

Specific traits of professionals in sales:

1. A clear understanding that sales are not a short term agreement, but instead a long term relationship.
2. A relationship has to wear well for both sides. That means being willing to bend when it’s the ethical thing to do and demand the same from the other party when it’s needed.
3. The ability to be a great investigator and clearly find out the intentions and objectives of the person on the other side. This way, you can decide efficiently if you can actually form a deal that wears well.
4. The ability to say no when you don’t feel confident a deal will meet the criteria needed by both sides.
5. The ability to admit when you have made a mistake and be upfront and eat crow so to speak.
6. Equally so being candid and upfront with people when you feel they have made a mistake without destroying the relationship  in the process.
7. The understanding that profit is not a dirty word and it’s okay to make a living as long as they understand that it goes for both sides.
8. Have personal experiences with a product or service such that it made an impact on said person’s life and they want others to have the same experience.
9. A strong sense of morals and ethics so as not to sell people products that are unneeded or unwanted by the client.
10. Exceptional knowledge on the history and background of the products or services.
11. The ability to train others and offer mentoring to up and coming staff around them.

These are traits that matter to me a lot. I always feel at ease when I’m working in an environment surrounded by people with these types of motivators.

The Subject of “Help”

Going through life many people have a lot of troubles on the idea of “help”. It’s often a topic that has a lot of betrayal connected with it. The reason I think this happens is because the person who is asking for it is often not heard properly and so there problem is not specifically dealt with.

The person calls on the phone and says they would like to know more about e cigarettes, and the sales man on the other side starts trying to get them to buy something. What this does is try to impose a completely different intention behind the phone call or whatever means they are speaking in the first place. It’s often masked later as a success because the person simply bought some product because they felt they were closer to getting there question answered than before.

This simply doesn’t work.

If you want smooth professional relationships with clients listen to what they want and focus on getting it to them. This goes a long way in building that trust and loyalty because they know when they need something you can help with, you will do it. Often once I have completed tasks, I ask for a few minutes to discuss specific services or products I offer to see if they fit into the objectives they are currently working on. Obviously if someone calls and says they want to buy merchandise, the best thing to do is to find out if you can help them on that problem.

I can’t tell you how many huge sales I have made in my career after helping a client on a completely unrelated topic, and they suddenly found themselves having interest buying product from my core business.

In simplicity:

1. Listen specifically to what people want, and give it to them.
2. Naturally migrate from one completed task to the next.
3. Under promise, and over deliver.
4. Helping people specifically should give you the opportunity to be heard later.
5. If your product is fantastic, you should have no trouble selling it in droves.

Hope this sheds some light on my style and attitude when it comes to selling.