I enjoy selling and I enjoy buying. Selling more than buying, most days! I find the buyer side of me stopping to observe the seller’s technique and approach when I’m attempting to buy something. In the past week, I have seen the opposite ends of the sales spectrum.

Two recent “buy” decisions involved VERY different sales approaches. As you might expect, both situations involved retail sales.

The first situation involved a sales person performing a knowledge dump of all the COOL, VERY COOL technology I would be getting. The sales person had NO idea what I was looking for, how I would use the technology or why I came through the door. I will say the enthusiasm and product knowledge was impressive, but I didn’t see the value of two-thirds of the technology . . . at least not for me. After hearing everything I was up against (or entitled to), I knew the price would scare me. It did and price became an issue – I failed to see the value of all the “cool stuff” and wondered what my alternatives might be? (I’m still looking into that)

The second situation was quite different. The sales person asked very good questions about my needs, goals, timing, etc. What impressed me most was the “Value” statement I heard to recap our brief conversation. After understanding the value I would receive, the price was underwhelming – I was sold!

It’s pretty basic but worth repeating – people buy to meet a need. Value is more important than price. Uncover the need, convey the value, close the deal.

Comments(0)

From Selling Power’s Daddy, I Want to Be in Sales When I Grow Up:

Imagine a world in which sales was regarded on a professional level with engineering and medicine; a world in which your five-year-old said, €œDaddy, I want to be a salesman when I grow up.€ Sound like a dream? It is.

This topic has long been of interest to me.  Sales is often considered a lesser profession due mainly to the fact that there is a low barrier to entry.  If you have a smart phone and a briefcase you can be in sales.  The gentleman in this article, Howard Stevens, is out to change that fact.

Consider this, says Stevens: more than half of all students graduating from college who aren€™t going on to a graduate-level program will go into sales, regardless of their major. That translates into four to five million new sales people hired every year, of whom only 2,000 or so have a sales degree. That€™s because of the 4,158 institutions of higher learning in the U.S., fewer than 40 have a formal sales program, whether for a major, a minor, or a certificate.

€œCompanies are dying to hire the kids who have already been trained in sales because if they€™ve spent time getting the degree or the training, you know they want to be there,€ says Stevens. As a result, he adds, the turnover rate of sales graduates €œappears to be less than half the national average. And anecdotal evidence suggests their ramp-up time is almost three times faster. Most professional sales organizations won€™t hire someone without at least two years sales experience, but they€™re making exceptions for new graduates with sales degrees.€

I find it surprising that institutions do not aggressively establish a formal sales department.  Again, I think the profession is held in low regard through much of academia.  Hopefully that view is changing.

Comments(1)