EVERYONE is in sales, yes everyone.
From the moment we are born until the day we die, we are ALL in sales to some degree or another.
Children are in the business of selling their parents on their needs from the moment they are born. They cry for attention, tell us when they are hungry and sometimes (queue my kids…) throw tantrums when they don’t get what they want.
Adults sell the idea themselves to a potential mate or partner. A man/woman/other asks a man/woman/other to marry them by selling the idea of how great they’d be together.
And in our adult work, whether you have a physical product to sell or a service to offer, you are most definitely ALWAYS selling something.
Your job title doesn’t matter – everyone is in sales.
So, how did the idea of “sales” get such a bad rap?
The infamous make up genius, Estée Lauder said “I have never worked a single day in my life without selling.”
I believe sales is a very noble profession.
There are a few keys to doing it right though…
THE 5 KEYS TO DOING SALES THE RIGHT WAY:
1 Integrity: if you’re going to sell something, you have to be prepared to put your name and word behind it.
2. Add value: sell something that will make the world or the lives of the people who want it better.
3. Only sell what you truly believe in: your belief in what you are selling, will make it sell itself. Work on your beliefs more than anything else – it’s even more valuable than product knowledge (although it doesn’t replace it).
4. Meet a need: find out what your customer or market pace truly NEEDS, needs outweigh wants.
5. Solve a problem: if there is a pain point for your customer, or market place and you can solve that for them, do it.
When I first got into business for myself, I will totally admit, I dreaded being the “sales person”, and I often went about it the WRONG way. Pushy, selfish, disconnected from my potential clients. UGH. It sucked (for me and them, I’m sure). But, the moment I shifted my perspective to “how can I serve” and worked out my own beliefs about what I had to offer – it all went so much better.
If you’re feeling icky about sales, it’s OK! So many people do. But there is a better way. It just takes little bit of patience to learn and apply. But, like most things in life, it’s worth it.
Sales is simply influence.
If you truly want to be great, you NEED to know how to incorporate sales into everything you do.
And never forget, the one thing you are truly always selling is YOU.
xo Lav
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