90% of the Time…
…When someone tries to sell you something, you feel that they are there to try to “take” your money away from you. May it be the mall and someone runs after you giving you a flyer for a P2M condominium investment or a text message offering you a loan for 1.5% per month or a telemarketer offering you some ridiculous product or service. You feel like you are constantly under attack from these aggressive sales agents.
What if…
Instead of feeling on the defensive and paranoid about people selling to you, you start feeling less irritated? Can that be done?
People Hate Being Sold To.
In my “Proactive Sales and Marketing Seminar”, I always state the fact that “People in general, HATE being sold to…” Think about it, whenever someone tries to sell you something, you start to cringe. Your defense mechanism leaps into action and you are thinking “Oh brother, here we go again”. And so I continue…”BUT, people love to BUY stuff.” Another fact. Think about it again, how many buy 1 take 1 offers have you went nuts over? Whenever Megamall has a sale, are you the first ones in line?
You see, the paradox of selling and buying cannot be farther apart. People hate being sold to, but they absolutely love buying stuff. So, knowing this fact, I want to explain a very important lesson that “would be sellers” have to know as soon as possible.
Selling Is NOT about Taking
The reason why people are naturally alarmed and defensive about sales people is because 90% of sales people out there have the notion that selling is about taking the customer’s money. Believe me when I say that customers are people too and they can sense the threat of an overly aggressive sales person much as they sense a thief trying to steal your valuables. And the big problem is, sales people are trained to think and to act that way by “would be” sales experts. In fact, some of the most atrocious so called sales experts would proudly say: “Selling begins when the customer says NO”. You see, that kind of attitude is what makes your customers shun you. People are allergic to that kind of attitude, and so if you have that attitude, don’t be surprised if you are having a difficult time closing a sale.
Selling Is About GIVING
And yet, there are sales professionals in this world that are loved and make selling seem so easy. People flock to them. Take note, they do not chase after customers, but instead customers chase after them. Have you ever seen such a person? You actually have. Think about your daily life, who do you regularly buy stuff from, think of your “Suki” tindero / tindera. Or your favorite restaurant or your favorite branch of gadgets. Why do you buy from them and not the other store just down the street? Is it because they sell you stuff cheap? No, not necessarily. Think. It really boils down to because you like them more than the others. And why do you like them more? Because they are, to a certain degree more generous to you than the others are. They are different in that sense, and that is why you buy from them.
People Respond To Generosity
Because we are so bombarded with people trying to “sell” (aka “Take Something”) from us. People will naturally feel relief from people who “Give” something back to us. Now a very obvious and literal example of “giving” is when you get a huge discount or a freebie product when you get something” Well, while that is good and easy to see, I’m actually talking about something deeper and longer lasting. I’m talking about the generosity associated with making your life and your well-being better. Sounds deep, but hear me out, for example, when you go to a doctor, naturally you go to have your sickness cured, a normal doctor would prescribe you meds, wish you well and that’s it. But then there are doctors that go the extra mile, they prescribe meds, wish you well, and then would text you after a few days to sincerely check up on you. Then when you text back and / or call him back saying you are still not feeling well, he will give you a diagnosis over the phone free of charge. When you get better and need another consult, which doctor will you most probably go back to?
Givers Are Sellers Of The Highest Level
As a sales and marketing trainer and practitioner for more than a decade, I have seen how selling has evolved through the years, I’ve come across a lot of would be “sales experts” and I have learned from the folly of their arrogance, and one thing will remain clear for as long as I can see — People who give, will always outsell people who take. So if you are in the profession of sales, know that selling is about giving. Not taking. So if nothing else, remember that when you learn to sincerely give to your customers and your customers come back to you and start buying from you without you having to force them with your sales talk. You are actually selling at the highest, noblest level there is.
Until the next article, good luck, and God bless.
Author Box:
Mark So is a fervent businessman, Investor and educator. He is the Chairman and CEO of Businessmaker Academy—a business, finance and corporate training center. He is the founder and Chief Forex Trainer of Forex Club Asia, A Trading club of Forex Traders across Asia. He is also the Co-Founder of HR Club Philippines, a network of professional HR practitioners in the Philippines. Mark, together with his loving wife also created wealthflowproject.com a website dedicated to teaching people how to make money run after you. A sought after speaker for business, marketing, currency trading and investing, You may email your comments and questions to: markso@wealthflowproject.com or call the office at 6874445 / 6873416 / 6874645 for a schedule of his seminars
