So in this concluding article I will explain that being a great sales person is NOT just about developing a skill or transforming yourself from Yin to Yang or Yang to Yin. Instead, evolving as a salesperson is simpler than you think.
Money Money Money
In my Sales and Marketing Seminars I ask my students what their motivation for selling is. Can you guess what their three main answers are? Correct:
1.) Money
2.) Recognition, and
3.) More Money.
To which I reply, “That’s very honest of all of you, but you see Money and Recognition can be achieved through some other means, you don’t need to engage in selling to achieve those. You can inherit wealth for Money, or you can learn to Invest and grow your money, or you can invent a new gadget or write an article for a newspaper for recognition, in other words what you mentioned were indeed motivations, but not really motivations to make you sell better.” Does that make sense? the crowd nods in agreement. So I continue, “You see the best sales people in the world, whether Yin or Yang are motivated by only two things when they start selling. these two things are what I call the 2 core sales motivations that you must develop to be better at selling. These are:
CORE MOTIVATION # 1.) Great Sales People are Excited and motivated by the product itself; And
CORE MOTIVATION #2.) Great Sales People absolutely CARE about the people that they sell to, their customers.”
Ok, so let’s talk about these 2 core sales motivations a little more shall we? In the world of selling, there is a simple but often forgotten rule which is:
“You Can’t Sell Properly What You Don’t Believe In”
If you remember, my wife, Jhoanna is as I mentioned a Super Yin, she absolutely gets freaked out when she needs to do the selling herself, but not when it comes to our seminars and our real estate properties.
Jhoanna absolutely believes in practical education, she has read “self-help” and “How to” books all her life and has become a maven of information, the Seminars we hold at Businessmaker Academy is the product of her beliefs (and mine of course), which she is very proud of and will be willing to sell to anyone who inquires about it. When she is in the office and answers a phone call inquiring about any one of our seminars, her face lights up and she can sell very naturally and easily. (She closes 99% of them literally) The same goes for Real Estate, yes she loves real estate, in fact ever since she was 7 years old, she would regularly encircle with a red marker the properties for rent or sale in the classifieds section of the Manila Bulletin and ask her parents to call and inquire how much it was. She would even insist on going with her family every Sunday to see some of the properties they owned at that time. She was and still is obsessed with Real Estate, so when one of our condominium units was turned over to us, she was able to rent it out on the first day we opened the door (I am not exaggerating). This is the power of believing in your product.
How about you? Are you motivated by the product you are selling? If you never saw it that way, here’s a simple exercise that you can do right now. Get a piece of paper and write on the top part: “I LOVE my product because…” then create a list, make the list as long as possible. Once you finish, I want you to read that list every morning before you start your selling day, do it everyday until you memorize it. The moment you see your product in a different light, the moment you start loving your product, you will immediately see your sales increase.
Ok, you are half-way there, now lets talk about the other core motivation of selling, which I believe to be a crucial ingredient in the sales process:
“You Should Not Sell If You Do Not Care For The People You Sell To”
Notice that I said “should not”, and not “cannot” because you can sell to people you don’t care about, but they (the customers) will know that you are not selling for their benefit but for yours only. And this is the other “Must have” ingredient when it comes to selling very well. You must “Love” your customers for you to be able to gain their trust and their loyalty. It is easy to fake sincerity, but if you do, your customers will know. And without sincerity there can never be trust. If the customer trusts you, the customer will buy from you, if the customer doesn’t trust you, they may buy from you once but maybe never again. It’s really that simple. So when you sell, be sincere, do not say what you think the customer wants to hear, instead, say the things that are true no matter if it may hurt the sale.
I honestly can tell you that I care for my customers, I sincerely do and they know it. But it is not just about what I say, it is about what I do that make my customers understand that I and my businesses are here for them. In my seminars I tell my students that I am sincerely excited to be here today to teach them, and indeed I am excited and thrilled, I always am because at the end of the day I love the feeling of being able to help, inspire, and provide a means for a better life for all of them. After my seminars, they would walk up to me and say “thank you” and the next time they would come over, I would shake their hands and ask about their family or how their start-up business is doing, I would mention the details of our meeting several weeks ago and they get surprised that I even remembered. These small things, these sincere things that I do over time show my customers that I care.
But I go several steps further, I don’t just sell to my customers, I build businesses around them to provide them what they need. And my customers would gladly buy from me, almost any product that I offer them because number 1.) I believe and trust in the product that I’m selling and 2.) All my long time customers know, I am selling something that I know that would be for their best interest.
Would you like to become more sincere? Here’s another exercise that will help with that. I want you to go and get a picture of a person that you would never ever lie to. Someone that you respect too much to just “sell to” It could be anyone. Go ahead and get that picture now. Got it? Great, now I want you to tell that picture why you would never want to lie to him/her. Go ahead, “I won’t lie to you because…” Done? Great, how did it feel? Feels honest right? Did you feel a bit liberated? You see, this exercise is meant to make you understand that customers are not just “people”. Customers can be your Mom, your wife, your Husband, your teacher, anyone that you care for and respect a whole lot. In that frame of mind, would you agree that you will only “sell” them something that will benefit them? Yes? Great, you are on your way to becoming a better sales person.
So in my examples and exercises above, Jhoanna and I, together with our growing businesses continue to strive to be better sales people using these two core motivations, 2 very simple truths in selling. I truly and sincerely hope it will help you too in your quest to be even better as a sales person now and in the future. Good Luck and God Bless!
Author box:
Mark So is a fervent businessman, forex trader, marketer, sales consultant, and educator. He is the Chairman and CEO of Businessmaker Academy—a business, finance and corporate training center. He is also the Chief Forex Trainer of Forex Club Manila. Mr. So is slated to conduct his Proactive Sales and Marketing Course this July 10, 2010. If you are interested in attending this seminar, email Mark directly at markso@zerocapitalclub.com. To read more of Mark’s interesting and life enriching articles you can go to his blog at http://www.markso.wordpress.com
36 Comments
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thumbs up!
Thanks Michael!
Thank you. I really learned a lot.
Very welcome Martin!
I understand this. There are numerous times that I encounter sales people who would always suggest that you get the highest priced item that they are offering without even caring if you can afford it or you have a particular need for it. For as long as they can dispose it, it’s fine with them. Sometimes, they would even grimace if you get a cheaper item. That is one thing that they have to reform in the sales industry.
Yes, it can get very frustrating indeed which is why I hope more and more sales professionals read this article. Thanks for writing in Marizen. All the Best!
Very helpful thank you.
Most welcome Gary
Thank you very much… It will help to understand more than selling is not just making money at all. God bless
Very welcome Homer. Keep reading, keep learning, keep sharing!
Way to go Mr. So! You really speak from your heart!
When I have time, I will continue my complete FOREX course with you.
Thanks very much Gleeko, always nice to hear your kind words
hi mark… this is real-life marketing principle..the “must haves” are practical…
i have attended one of the seminars you offer, and as i read your article i was trying to compare it with the kind of approach (teachings and learnings) of the seminar i attended, indeed yours is believable because you CARE for your students…errr, clients as well..thanks for educating people including me and i hope to avail some more of your seminars….ciao!
Thank you Vic, means a lot to me.
ABSOLUTELY! It’s nice to see someone espousing the basics. I wholeheartedly agree.
Thanks Don. Glad you agree
I am doing this ever since I started into selling business but it doesn’t work. Why?
Many reasons Philip, There may be a disconnect between what you are selling and what your customers want. Even if you believe in your product and even if you care for your customers but if they don’t see the need to buy it, then they really won’t buy.
Let me know what you are selling and who do you sell to? That way I can help you even more.
All the best,
Mark
Thanks for your reply markso. I just started into real estate and my prospective clients are all OFWs (friends very well known to me). Out of 50 individual presentation only 3 responded positively. Is there any technique as you may advice please so I can penetrate more.
Well, first off, did you “qualify” your leads? Meaning are these people that you presented to interested in real estate in the first place? This is one of the most important things to do. Make sure that the prospect is someone willing and able to buy. Here’s what I suggest you do. Next time you make a presentation, ask them point blank if they are really interested and what would make them buy. If they say yes, ask them their budget and if they would like to really buy any of the property in your listings. This is what we call ‘probing’ If they say maybe or no then they are probably not that serius to begin with. So you can put them on a lower priority for follow ups.
Also know that in the world of sales not everyone will buy, it’s a simple fact of life. This and many many more sales truths and techniques will be discussed in my seminar this July 10 proactive sales and marketing. If you are seriously wanting to improve, I suggest you enroll. Call 6874445 , 6873416, 6874645 and look for Kenneth.
Honesty and truth are two of the most precious jewels gifted By God to men. But man drowned in greed for materialistic comforts fails to recognize these Divine gifts. What you profess, does not only comply to sales but should be practiced in every single phase of life. If people realize this simple attribute, this planet would be a much better place. But that again is wishful thinking. God Bless!
Well said Noshir. We can always hope.
Hey, that advice was nice!
Thank you, Mark for sharing this very interesting eye-opener.
More power!
Very welcome Brenda!
All the best!
-Mark
hi mark,
thanks for the insights. i am learning a lot. its been a while since i took the forex course, but reading your blogs just reminds me that it would be a waste not to go back and finish it. I hope to see you sometime soon when my schedule affords me then.
Hi Desa, been a while, you are very welcome and I look forward to getting you back on track with forex!
I am a salesman for almost a decade now but recently, my sales slow down. And start to question why? I must admit that this two core motivation is the answer to my questions this past few days. Simple and yet potent. Now I am on track again… pls send me details regarding the seminar. More power!
Glad to hear that Mike! I’ll have my product specialist Kenneth send you the course outlines for proactive sales and sales training by email.
As a customer, how will i know if the product is worth buying?..
As a salesman, how can i prove them that my product is worth buying..how can i market them?..
Hi Tina, great questions, here are my answers:
As a customer, the product is worth buying if it solves a problem that you’ve been having
As a sales person, prove it by showing the results that your product has given other customers with similar problems.
These and many more sales truths will be tackled this July 10 at my Proactive Sales and Marketing seminar 🙂
Click here: http://www.businessmaker-academy.com/l-proactivesales.html
All the best!
-Mark
Hi all! I’d like to invite you to my proactive sales and marketing seminar this July 10
Do you want to double your sales?
Click here: http://www.businessmaker-academy.com/l-proactivesales.html
Register by calling (632)6874445, 6873416, 6874645 or email me directly at markso@zerocapitalclub.com
I totally agree. There are a lot of network selling offers lately, but it is really hard to get into it since I’m not convinced with the product. As much as I want to sell and earn, my heart is not into it. Plus, I also would not personally use the product. There is also not much to say when you do not really believe in what you’re selling. Every word feels scripted compared if your heart and mind is into it.
I also believe that sellers are responsible to customers when it comes to the products they sell. Especially if what you are selling are health products, which are very common nowadays. So, I really applaud those people who are able to find the product/s they believe in, and able to make money out of it. Just hope they do it with care.
Hi Marie, thanks for writing in! I’m glad you are able to relate your experiences with my article. Keep reading, keep learning, keep sharing!
Nice exercise
I like examining and I think this website got some truly useful stuff on it! .