We have all types of freedom in the USA, including economic freedom. “Free Enterprise,” an economic and political doctrine in the United States that ensures our right to have a capitalist economy that can regulate itself in a freely competitive market, letting the principles of supply and demand act, and react, naturally with a minimum amount of governmental intervention. Fantastic! After all, this is a doctrine that supports and contributes to our ability to achieve the “American Dream”. It has paved the way for daring innovators and inventors to passionately bring to the marketplace such amazing creations like the Pet Rock, Slinky and Mr. Potato Head for us to decide, “Oh my! I must have that!” And it has allowed those creators, whoever they are, to make gazillions in the process!
Who cares that you have to tilt the surface to make your Pet Rock move or no one in history has ever been able to successfully make a Slinky actually complete its descent down more than 3-4 steps of a staircase! Americans loved these products anyway. For every Pet Rock or Slinky we have also seen our fair share of items that, believe it or not, seem like better products than the Pet Rock or Slinky infamously flop. I am sure that the inventors of many of these flops and failures were just as passionate about their products than the few inventors’ products that completely took off!
If You Believe and Have Passion for Something, you have “Sincerely” Tried to “Sell” It
How many times have you seen a movie that struck you as special and just had to tell your friends, family and other people whom you care about, “you have to see this movie?” How many times have you had a friend talk about how much they enjoyed a cruise, loved their car or thought the world of certain Doctor? We have all shared our passionate endorsement for something or some person and we have all heard other people share theirs as well. Is that “Sales” or someone who sincerely believes that you may be better off for knowing or experiencing what they know, have bought or experienced? You cannot fake sincerity. Well, I know I can’t, and I believe most people cannot. However, I do believe you can tell when someone really believes in what they are doing or saying versus just going through the motions.
Whether someone carries a sales bag or not for a living, everyone’s individual success in life is directly or indirectly correlated with successful sales efforts. Even for a person who works in the accounting department of an automobile manufacturer, their job stability is not only in the hands of the quality of the final product coming off the assembly line, but the sales people in dealerships across the world convincing people to sign on the dotted line. At the top of the “Big 3” US automakers, like other large public companies, CEO’s are not only their company’s highest profile sales people as it relates to their products and services but spend every day passionately advocating their company’s strengths to analysts, shareholders, executives and employees, banks and lending institutions, advocacy groups and our government.
People at all levels of all types of organizations who are happy with their jobs or careers and who take pride in their company sell their brand every day, whether they realize it or not. Their job or organization becomes part of their identity and who they are. I was recently at Nike’s corporate headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon and spent a couple hours on a tour of the campus, not with a paid tour guide, but someone who manages their quality assurance in their customer service organization. This guy lived and breathed Nike, which showed with every step we took around the campus. His enthusiasm for the Nike story, history and how he was part of something he believed in and loved was electric.
Purchasing a Camera from Best Buy – Selling versus being “Sold”
Last month I went to my neighborhood Best Buy with a need to purchase a new camera. I did a little research on cameras on line but wanted to see the cameras in the store and be able to talk with someone who could answer all my questions about the differences between the brands, models and capabilities of each.
I found a sales person in the camera department to help me. At first he was doing ok with some of my basic questions but then I could tell he was guessing a little bit and he didn’t have a full handle on all the products in his department. I call this being “sold”, when someone is trying to sell me something for the sake of trying to make a sell, but is missing the ability to understand what I want or need as well as the real belief, passion, sincerity and/or knowledge about what they are selling and why based on my needs. At my request, he steered me to another salesperson.
The salesperson he passed me on to was excellent! Her demonstrated knowledge on all the different products rolled right off her tongue, and she backed it up by showing me the facts on the specification sheets she pulled with ease as she went from one model to another. She had total command of what she was selling and it was so evident how “passionate” and “sincere” she was about cameras and photography. Although I knew brands like Nikon, Sony or Cannon all had very good reputations and a successful history of producing high quality cameras, I did not know which make and model would make the most sense for my needs or even what other brands should be in the mix. The saleswoman helped me look beyond the brands and choose what make and model was best for me by listening to my needs, providing me with information on each, the differences, pros and cons, and getting me within a comfortable price range. She did not force my hand and did not “sell” me – she “helped” me. She also gave me her business card and told me I could call her or come into the store anytime if I had any issues or questions post-purchase. Had I not been able to find someone like her in the store that day, I would have ended up leaving still needing a camera without a clear picture of what I wanted.
Types of Sales People
After browsing the web for a while searching for someone who I thought sufficiently captured and described the different types of sales people we all encounter in the marketplace, I stumbled upon an article published in the Houston Chronicle written by Jared Lewis of Demand Media entitled “4 Types of Sales People.” I think his categorization of sales people is simple yet comprehensive, as follows:
(1) The Transactional Salesperson
Transactional salespeople are those that simply wait for the transaction to make their sale. These are the salespeople that you might refer to as the order-takers because they passively sit by waiting for the sale to come to them. They may still be quite successful in what they do, despite their passive attitude, because they may become adept at positioning themselves in the right place at the right time to get the sale. However, most of these salespeople are better off working in a retail environment where the primary job of the salesperson is to help the buyer find the product she is already looking for and then ring it up.
(2) The Relational Salesperson
The relational salesperson thrives off of the customer-salesperson relationship. This type of salesperson is good at quickly building rapport with the customer and often gets sales because the buyer likes her enough that she becomes the deciding factor in the sales process. These salespeople also establish the long-term relationship with a customer that brings the customer back around for repeat business. They tend to excel in industries like advertising or any type of sales where established account selling is important.
(3) The Closers
A large portion of the sales force in many different industries is made up of closers or those who are always trying to close the deal on a sale. These are what many people think of when they think of the used car salesman. This type of salesperson is constantly inching the customer toward the goal of closing the deal. While relationships with customers may still be important for future sales with this type of salesperson, they are usually secondary to the immediate goal of going for the close.
(4) Consultants/Consultative Salesperson
Consultants are probably the most well-rounded of the different types of salespeople. These are people who know how to close a deal and build relationships at the same time. Consultants genuinely thrive off of the problem-solving aspect of their jobs, listening to customer needs and helping them find solutions to their problems. Consultants have superior listening skills and tend to be patient with customers when necessary, but aggressive when necessary also.
The Consultative Sales Person
The sales woman who sold me the camera at Best Buy certainly did not make the sale, nor would she have made the sale, had she been a Transactional, Relational, or a Closer type sales person. She was a Consultative sales person. It was not her ability to take an order by being in the right place at the right time, niceness and relationship skills, gift of gab or going for the close that made that sale happen. It was her demonstrated knowledge of the products she sold and her ability to listen and communicate to me in clear layman’s terms which cameras I should consider and why, based on my needs. She “helped” me through a buying decision and would be there to support me after I walked out of the store with the product.
Would it have mattered what type of sales person helped me at Best Buy that day if I had really done my research and, by the time I walked into the store, already felt completely ready to make the purchase of the exact camera I wanted? If I happened to run into the Transactional sales person, he or she may have made the sale by being in the right place at the right time. The Relational sales person may have made the sale because they recognized me when I walked in or for the same reason as the Transactional sales person, although I may have thought they were more fun to deal with. The Closer may have got me in and out of the store with the camera quickly. However, the Consultative sales person would have sold me the same camera as well while possibly reinforcing confidence in my decision to purchase the item based on its features; however, maybe she would have pointed out some additional features, or lack of features, I was unaware of or showed me a comparable camera for less money and changed my mind for all the right reasons.
As a buyer, I will take the Consultative sales person if given the choice, or maybe even seek out the Consultative sales person, every day of the week! As an employer too! I certainly would not have purchased my camera at Best Buy if not for the proficiency of the “consultative” sales person at that moment, would have had to spend more time finding the right camera and, although I may have bought the same exact camera down the road, another retailer probably would have booked the sale. Because of the consultative abilities of the sales person I dealt with, Best Buy wrapped up the sale and I was able to cross one more thing off my to-do list, sooner as opposed to later.
With a truly Consultative Sales Person, everyone wins!
Five Personal Characteristics of a Truly Consultative Sales Person
So, if I had to boil it down to what characteristics in people you should look for when deciding who to turn to when researching, evaluating or making your next buying decision, I say go for the Sales Consultant by evaluating which people possess these personal characteristics:
(1) Understanding – Desire to understand what your needs are, and a willingness to provide you with relevant opinions, advice or solutions based on your needs.
(2) Belief – A genuine belief in the solution(s) they present or suggest, and that such solution(s) are, or may be, in your best interest.
(3) Passion – A “fire in the belly” for the industry they are in, company they are with and the products and/or services their company brings to the marketplace.
(4) Sincerity – Honesty, transparency and a desire to truly help you make the right purchasing decision, even if it is counter to their own personal interests, as opposed to selling you something for the sake of trying to make a sale.
(5) Knowledge – Demonstrated knowledge of their industry, products, services and company.
[:es]
We have all types of freedom in the USA, including economic freedom. “Free Enterprise,” an economic and political doctrine in the United States that ensures our right to have a capitalist economy that can regulate itself in a freely competitive market, letting the principles of supply and demand act, and react, naturally with a minimum amount of governmental intervention. Fantastic! After all, this is a doctrine that supports and contributes to our ability to achieve the “American Dream”. It has paved the way for daring innovators and inventors to passionately bring to the marketplace such amazing creations like the Pet Rock, Slinky and Mr. Potato Head for us to decide, “Oh my! I must have that!” And it has allowed those creators, whoever they are, to make gazillions in the process!
Who cares that you have to tilt the surface to make your Pet Rock move or no one in history has ever been able to successfully make a Slinky actually complete its descent down more than 3-4 steps of a staircase! Americans loved these products anyway. For every Pet Rock or Slinky we have also seen our fair share of items that, believe it or not, seem like better products than the Pet Rock or Slinky infamously flop. I am sure that the inventors of many of these flops and failures were just as passionate about their products than the few inventors’ products that completely took off!
If You Believe and Have Passion for Something, you have “Sincerely” Tried to “Sell” It
How many times have you seen a movie that struck you as special and just had to tell your friends, family and other people whom you care about, “you have to see this movie?” How many times have you had a friend talk about how much they enjoyed a cruise, loved their car or thought the world of certain Doctor? We have all shared our passionate endorsement for something or some person and we have all heard other people share theirs as well. Is that “Sales” or someone who sincerely believes that you may be better off for knowing or experiencing what they know, have bought or experienced? You cannot fake sincerity. Well, I know I can’t, and I believe most people cannot. However, I do believe you can tell when someone really believes in what they are doing or saying versus just going through the motions.
Whether someone carries a sales bag or not for a living, everyone’s individual success in life is directly or indirectly correlated with successful sales efforts. Even for a person who works in the accounting department of an automobile manufacturer, their job stability is not only in the hands of the quality of the final product coming off the assembly line, but the sales people in dealerships across the world convincing people to sign on the dotted line. At the top of the “Big 3” US automakers, like other large public companies, CEO’s are not only their company’s highest profile sales people as it relates to their products and services but spend every day passionately advocating their company’s strengths to analysts, shareholders, executives and employees, banks and lending institutions, advocacy groups and our government.
People at all levels of all types of organizations who are happy with their jobs or careers and who take pride in their company sell their brand every day, whether they realize it or not. Their job or organization becomes part of their identity and who they are. I was recently at Nike’s corporate headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon and spent a couple hours on a tour of the campus, not with a paid tour guide, but someone who manages their quality assurance in their customer service organization. This guy lived and breathed Nike, which showed with every step we took around the campus. His enthusiasm for the Nike story, history and how he was part of something he believed in and loved was electric.
Purchasing a Camera from Best Buy – Selling versus being “Sold”
Last month I went to my neighborhood Best Buy with a need to purchase a new camera. I did a little research on cameras on line but wanted to see the cameras in the store and be able to talk with someone who could answer all my questions about the differences between the brands, models and capabilities of each.
I found a sales person in the camera department to help me. At first he was doing ok with some of my basic questions but then I could tell he was guessing a little bit and he didn’t have a full handle on all the products in his department. I call this being “sold”, when someone is trying to sell me something for the sake of trying to make a sell, but is missing the ability to understand what I want or need as well as the real belief, passion, sincerity and/or knowledge about what they are selling and why based on my needs. At my request, he steered me to another salesperson.
The salesperson he passed me on to was excellent! Her demonstrated knowledge on all the different products rolled right off her tongue, and she backed it up by showing me the facts on the specification sheets she pulled with ease as she went from one model to another. She had total command of what she was selling and it was so evident how “passionate” and “sincere” she was about cameras and photography. Although I knew brands like Nikon, Sony or Cannon all had very good reputations and a successful history of producing high quality cameras, I did not know which make and model would make the most sense for my needs or even what other brands should be in the mix. The saleswoman helped me look beyond the brands and choose what make and model was best for me by listening to my needs, providing me with information on each, the differences, pros and cons, and getting me within a comfortable price range. She did not force my hand and did not “sell” me – she “helped” me. She also gave me her business card and told me I could call her or come into the store anytime if I had any issues or questions post-purchase. Had I not been able to find someone like her in the store that day, I would have ended up leaving still needing a camera without a clear picture of what I wanted.
Types of Sales People
After browsing the web for a while searching for someone who I thought sufficiently captured and described the different types of sales people we all encounter in the marketplace, I stumbled upon an article published in the Houston Chronicle written by Jared Lewis of Demand Media entitled “4 Types of Sales People.” I think his categorization of sales people is simple yet comprehensive, as follows:
(1) The Transactional Salesperson
Transactional salespeople are those that simply wait for the transaction to make their sale. These are the salespeople that you might refer to as the order-takers because they passively sit by waiting for the sale to come to them. They may still be quite successful in what they do, despite their passive attitude, because they may become adept at positioning themselves in the right place at the right time to get the sale. However, most of these salespeople are better off working in a retail environment where the primary job of the salesperson is to help the buyer find the product she is already looking for and then ring it up.
(2) The Relational Salesperson
The relational salesperson thrives off of the customer-salesperson relationship. This type of salesperson is good at quickly building rapport with the customer and often gets sales because the buyer likes her enough that she becomes the deciding factor in the sales process. These salespeople also establish the long-term relationship with a customer that brings the customer back around for repeat business. They tend to excel in industries like advertising or any type of sales where established account selling is important.
(3) The Closers
A large portion of the sales force in many different industries is made up of closers or those who are always trying to close the deal on a sale. These are what many people think of when they think of the used car salesman. This type of salesperson is constantly inching the customer toward the goal of closing the deal. While relationships with customers may still be important for future sales with this type of salesperson, they are usually secondary to the immediate goal of going for the close.
(4) Consultants/Consultative Salesperson
Consultants are probably the most well-rounded of the different types of salespeople. These are people who know how to close a deal and build relationships at the same time. Consultants genuinely thrive off of the problem-solving aspect of their jobs, listening to customer needs and helping them find solutions to their problems. Consultants have superior listening skills and tend to be patient with customers when necessary, but aggressive when necessary also.
The Consultative Sales Person
The sales woman who sold me the camera at Best Buy certainly did not make the sale, nor would she have made the sale, had she been a Transactional, Relational, or a Closer type sales person. She was a Consultative sales person. It was not her ability to take an order by being in the right place at the right time, niceness and relationship skills, gift of gab or going for the close that made that sale happen. It was her demonstrated knowledge of the products she sold and her ability to listen and communicate to me in clear layman’s terms which cameras I should consider and why, based on my needs. She “helped” me through a buying decision and would be there to support me after I walked out of the store with the product.
Would it have mattered what type of sales person helped me at Best Buy that day if I had really done my research and, by the time I walked into the store, already felt completely ready to make the purchase of the exact camera I wanted? If I happened to run into the Transactional sales person, he or she may have made the sale by being in the right place at the right time. The Relational sales person may have made the sale because they recognized me when I walked in or for the same reason as the Transactional sales person, although I may have thought they were more fun to deal with. The Closer may have got me in and out of the store with the camera quickly. However, the Consultative sales person would have sold me the same camera as well while possibly reinforcing confidence in my decision to purchase the item based on its features; however, maybe she would have pointed out some additional features, or lack of features, I was unaware of or showed me a comparable camera for less money and changed my mind for all the right reasons.
As a buyer, I will take the Consultative sales person if given the choice, or maybe even seek out the Consultative sales person, every day of the week! As an employer too! I certainly would not have purchased my camera at Best Buy if not for the proficiency of the “consultative” sales person at that moment, would have had to spend more time finding the right camera and, although I may have bought the same exact camera down the road, another retailer probably would have booked the sale. Because of the consultative abilities of the sales person I dealt with, Best Buy wrapped up the sale and I was able to cross one more thing off my to-do list, sooner as opposed to later.
With a truly Consultative Sales Person, everyone wins!
Five Personal Characteristics of a Truly Consultative Sales Person
So, if I had to boil it down to what characteristics in people you should look for when deciding who to turn to when researching, evaluating or making your next buying decision, I say go for the Sales Consultant by evaluating which people possess these personal characteristics:
(1) Understanding – Desire to understand what your needs are, and a willingness to provide you with relevant opinions, advice or solutions based on your needs.
(2) Belief – A genuine belief in the solution(s) they present or suggest, and that such solution(s) are, or may be, in your best interest.
(3) Passion – A “fire in the belly” for the industry they are in, company they are with and the products and/or services their company brings to the marketplace.
(4) Sincerity – Honesty, transparency and a desire to truly help you make the right purchasing decision, even if it is counter to their own personal interests, as opposed to selling you something for the sake of trying to make a sale.
(5) Knowledge – Demonstrated knowledge of their industry, products, services and company.