Selling the truth

TTlnr rRUTH cAN change nations, move mountains, and set us free. But it cannot sell itself. That's our job.

The skill sets we use as salespeople-building rapport, creating confidence, getting people to change their minds and say yes to us, quickly-are used by bad people to bad ends. They are called con artists. We are not con artists. We are salespeople, promoters of products we believe in.

We must believe in the product we are selling. Promoting a product we don't believe in is immoral. Sales is a reputation business. Lying catches up. People are not stupid. Salespeople who lie don't survive (aside from a few talented sociopaths who bounce from job to job).

The biggest fear of salespeople who underperform is that they will be perceived as liars, not that they are liars. Roughly 99.9Vo of all salespeople are honest and know it. Many struggling sellers bend over backwards trying to make up for the 0.17o instead of acting like the honest (sales)people they are and promoting full steam ahead!

This fear precludes them from being great. Because at the moment(s) of truth (i.e., every moment in front of the customer) this feeling of "Oh, no, they are going to think I'm saying this just to get the order" (lying) causes the average salesperson to hesitate and pull back, just a little.

This pulling back doesn't just happen at closing. It happens all the way through the sales process from prospect call to close. I call it "shambling around like a second class citizen." Life is a mirror. When we act like a second class citizen,people treat us like one. They can't help it.

It also causes "beating around the bush" syndrome-not asking directly for what we want-which confuses and frustrates the customer and does not create sales. In the hyper-competitive world of sales, this hesitation is where the customer and the order are lost.

Our Part in the Movie

We are not in the technical writing or research department. We are not accountants. We are in the promotions department. We promote things. We make them sound as good as possible. We are inspirational (not just informational). We can tell our woman we love her by text or we can buy her a bouquet of flowers and hand deliver them to her at her office. Which will she prefer?

Customer: I like the color. Is this any good?

Quotron: Yeah, it's good.

Inspirational Seller: That is a great color and it goes with your eyes. Made in the U.S.A., it was given the award for quality at last year's New York fashion awards.

Hiding Behind the Truth

Many quotrons don't want to do sales work. They want to present product and let the customer decide. If the customer says yes, they get the order. If not, oh well. These

(sales?)people hide behind the truth. But sadly and unprofitably, it's alazy, uncreative truth.

Two lumber salespeople have an identical challenge: a truckload of 2x4 2&Btr., 14 ft.-that has to go today!

Quotron: I tried to sell it, but my guy couldn't use l4s. (Truth)

Master Seller: My guy couldn't use 14s, so I sold them to him on a l2-ft. count. You said, do your best on the price, but move it today, so it's gone. What's next? Profitable Truth)

Just Bigger

I did a radio show for a year calledThe Sales Doctor. The night of the first show, I was prepared, psyched and nervous as H-E-Double Thunder. Right before showtime, the station manager came in and said, "James, you see that light up there? When it turns red, it's you"-and then he took both hands and acted like he was lifting up a world and added-'Just bigger!"

Salespeople who dominate embrace the'Just bigger" aspect of the job. Be yourself. We all promote and sell the truth in our own way. We don't have to be loud to be passionate. But we do have to show our passion. We can show our passion through quiet intensity, for example. So whoever you are and whatever truth you are selling, sell it-just bigger.

James Olsen

Reality Sales Training

(503\ 544-3572 james@realitysalestraining.com