Sales 101

"​​Salespeople are relationship builders who provide value and help their customers win."

- Jeffrey Gitomer

Note: This is a pretty short post, & I decided to make it following a conversation with one of my friends.

Introduction:

Sales is one of the greatest professions on the planet.

However, the profession gets a bad rap due to the high concentration of amateur salespeople. Often, salespeople will begin forcing customers to buy their product or service without even understanding the customer’s pain points.

Like any other profession, salespeople only perform at their best when they genuinely believe that their work is meaningful & has a higher purpose.

With sales, the professional must be able to diagnose the prospect’s problem & figure out how/ if it’s possible to integrate their solution. You need to become an “assistant buyer.”

Salespeople are often just after the commission, so they neglect the customer.

However, if I’ve learned anything in life, it’s never to view anyone as just an opportunity for your own gain.

The goal of the sales professional is to increase the perceived value of whatever you’re selling to persuade the prospect to invest their money with you ethically.

The moment the perceived value of an object surpasses the price you charge for it, the prospect will become inclined to purchase.

Types of Sales Calls:

In sales, there are multiple forms of calls: cold calls, discovery calls, closing calls, etc.

Although the format of the call itself might change, the principles of persuasion remain the same.

For example, on a cold call, you don’t have a lot of time to get your prospect to buy into whatever you’re pitching & that becomes the most challenging part of the call.

On a discovery call, the most difficult part is effectively communicating the benefits of your products/ services, while simultaneously tying them to your prospect’s pain points.

On a closing call, the most challenging part is making the offer & telling the prospect the price. Once you pitch the prospect, you wait (in silence) for them to respond. They’ll either hit you with an objection or a “When can I get onboarded?”

Objections are a good thing. This is usually where sales professionals acquire the most skill.

To summarize: Sales is the lifeblood of any business.

Without sales, there is no cash flow; without cash flow, businesses die.

Hiring:

Hiring the right sales professionals for your company is also extremely important. Just because someone is extraordinarily enthusiastic & fits the “Jordan Belfort” persona doesn’t mean they will be successful at sales.

A lot of exceptionally skilled sales professionals are introverted & pragmatic.

There’s this notion that prospects “buy with emotion and justify with logic.”

However, I believe a balance between the two is necessary in order to effectively persuade someone. Find people who have a good balance.

Closing:

That’s my take on sales, hopefully you found some value.

Peace,

J.R.