Who is not Selling?

Aren't we all selling?

• In a job interview, the candidate sales his candidature and the interviewer sales his company.
• A boy and a girl proposing each other to get married.
• A politician making speeches to get votes.
• A lawyer arguing his client's case in court.
• A government body negotiating a major contract.

Aren't they all selling?

Our selling ability determines the success or failure of any transaction. The definition of a salesperson is given by Robert Stevenson. He said "Anyone who setts a product, service or an idea is a sales person." Based on this idea who is not selling? A mother sells her ideas to a child, doesn't she? The consideration is not monetary but emotional.

We are always selling either for or against ourselves. The way we talk, walk, dress, meet and greet others says something about us. Our overall personality either leaves a favorable or unfavorable impression on others. Everyone in everyone in every company is constantly selling either for or against the company. 

Selling is a win-win or lose-lose game

When a sell is complete and we have sold a solution to someone, it means we have helped them get rid of some pain or achieve some gain. If either of these 2 things hasn't happened, we are doing a disservice. The buyer is deprived of a gain or continues bearing his pain and both the seller and buyer have lost their time forever. The seller has also lost an opportunity to provide a solution elsewhere. This is called lose-lose. 

By completing this transaction, both parties gain. The buyer by purchasing the solution, and the seller by getting paid for serving the buyer. When a seller sells the solution, it is called win-win, because both parties end up gaining.

Marketing strategies might be the sources of revenue, but actually sales bring the actual revenue.

Selling is considered to be a function of marketing. When sales results are good, marketing takes credit. When the sales are bad, the sales department and sales people are blamed.

Why has selling become a bigger challenge today than it was yesterday?

• Today a buyer has many more options.
• Competition has also become sophisticated.
• Media has made people more knowledgeable and aware.
• There is a terminology called ‘Caveat Emptor’ which means ‘Buyer Beware’. That is the old thinking. Today the scenario is ‘Seller Beware’. Why ‘Seller Beware’? This is because the seller is perceived as an expert in his field. The buyer who may or may not be knowledgeable in his area is relying on the seller’s trustworthiness. Today the buyer is relying on the seller’s character to competence to sell him the right product. This is where the seller’s integrity is put to test.

People often complain of competition. If you had no competition how would anyone rate or grade you? When you have competition, if you are good, you look better and if you are bad, you look worse because people have something or someone to compare you with.

Success in selling really demonstrated the survival of the fittest. Fitness is the professionalism in a sales professional, which is a learnt trait. Isn’t it a small premium to pay for a great life?

The profession of selling really is the domain of the elite. The elite professional is like the cream that rises to the top, no matter how big or small the container.