Principles of Selling

In this thread let's discuss the various principles of selling. If you have one (principle of selling) list it here. -AZBroker

Listening Leads to Understanding(Principle 16: The Patterson Principles of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer) -Marcus

Prospects only care about themselves. -Skip Anderson

With all deference to Mr. Gitomer, I believe:

Good Questions Lead to Good Understanding -jcundiff

Selling principles: tell the truth, don't BS or use tactics to get a sale, ask direct questions, and walk away from everyone who doesn't want what you offer and is willing to buy it OR isn't telling the truth, is BSing, and is attempting to use tactics to manipulate the outcome to your disadvantage.

MitchM -MitchM

MitchM, I agree with telling the truth, of course.

However, I don't agree with "don't use tactics to get a sale" because asking questions is a tactic. Being friendly is a tactic. Establishing trust and rapport is a tactic. Getting a prospect to open up to you is a tactic. Wildly successful salespeople use tactics all the time, just as accountants and golfers and teachers and firefighters do. Tactics are neither inherently good or bad, but good tactics are good.

I also agree that a salesperson should walk away from everyone who doesn't want what you offer and is not willing to buy it. But at the same time, I know that this determination often cannot be made immediately, and often takes a good amount of time.

The best to you! -Skip Anderson

Many people will do more to avoid a negative outcome than they will to gain a positive outcome. -Liberty

It's always interesting when I hear "BS" and "sales" in the same sentence. Some feel that without "lying", the sale will never be made.

In my experience, lying can't work in the mid to long term. If you have no scruples as a sales person, certainly you can lie to your suspects. Let's be honest, most of our suspects are astute consumers/business people: it will come back to haunt you.

Ask yourself a question: when someone is at successful selling you something, what was it about their style? Invariably, it comes back that a sales person's ability to listen wins hands-down. The car SR who pitches a 2-seater to a father with 3 kids, will never be truly successful. Whereas, the SR who asks qualifying questions from the outset and listens to the response is supremely prepared to provide an appropriate product.

I've personally found that if you probe for needs, listen, probe more if required, provide professional responses to any objections, you'll get the opportunity to present your offering which matches their needs.

During the qualifying process, you might uncover "conditions" which cannot be overcome. As well, you might find that your offering simply doesn't fit. If you're convinced on one of these points, in an effort to maintain the relationship and ensure a future opportunity, it's best to table any concerns and be prepared to walk.

"Principles" are "rules" or "standards" to which we adhere. I don't lie because I don't believe in it. Besides, as you age, you can't remember the lies so how can you do a call-back? LOL!!!

Good luck & Good Selling!
Pat -OUTSource Sales

"However, I don't agree with "don't use tactics to get a sale" because asking questions is a tactic. Being friendly is a tactic. Establishing trust and rapport is a tactic. Getting a prospect to open up to you is a tactic. Wildly successful salespeople use tactics all the time, just as accountants and golfers and teachers and firefighters do. Tactics are neither inherently good or bad, but good tactics are good." -- Skip

I know you like many other people live their lives as if they are games or war plans or competitive strikes thus everything is a tactic and part of an overall strategy to win the game or war or get the prize. I'm well aware of that metaphor for life.

I neither look at things nor define them that way which doesn't mean you don't define what I do by your way of looking at life. It just means I don't. I also understand that the word tactic isn't inherently good or bad.

BUT I don't go into the world every day thinking [or having internalized it]: my tactic to overcome and meet, to win and achieve, to compete and get things in this world will be being friendly.

MitchM -MitchM

We don't know one another - we know what we post. So I take your post that being a friend is a tactic. Okay, maybe to try and sell something it's a tactic but in other contexts it's not. I'm just interpreting what you posted as I understand it - nothing here represents anyone in the whole. That's should be apparent too.

There are those who look at martial arts - different kinds - as defensive or offensive or both. Others view them as combative and competitive. Different martial arts have different specific applications/ Then there are those wh look at martial arts as meditative and spiritual. Some put it all together in different combinations. That's common knowledge.

The founder of aikido put his martial arts into the context of creating and restoring balance and harmony individually and then in the family, in the nation, in the universe.He saw martial arts in his study as an exercise in obstaining from harm or injury, form combat and competion. Bagua is similiar in that context.

To one martial artist this or that form is a tactic. To another it's an expression of something else - spiritual study or internal harmony.

That was my point - that in my cosmos I don't understand the things you posted Skip at tactics. Maybe we simply use the word in different ways but the end is the same. I don't know.

MitchM -MitchM

An interesting interpretation of the word "tactic" but, to put it succinctly, being friendly isn't so much a "tactic" as it is one's personal "style".

You can be obnoxious, confrontational, and unprofessional but still be successfully selling (something/somewhere). You can suppress this while you're on-patch but it'll bubble to the surface when stressed. So, depending on one's personal goals, it's a question of what sort of swath they want to leave behind them in their conquest.

It's my sense that one absorbs the sales principles which best suite their individual (personal) style.

A "natural" in this business rises to their own level; for some it's a real stretch to become comfortable AND successful. I've had teams where some SRs get the message and are immediate contributors to our team targets. I've had others that seem to feel that they've "arrived" and are stunned when a PIP is initiated (Performance Improvement Program because they're slipping)!

I think that we'd all agreed that there simply are no guarantees in sales.

An earlier post suggested that I see sales as a "war" which my references would contradict. As well, every single SR who has worked with me would identify me as an open communicator who is willing to mentor/share. Here's my mentor quote wrt sales principles: keep your customers ahead of you, remain completely open/honest with them and you'll excel in sales!

Good luck & Good selling!
Pat -OUTSource Sales

Excellent post - I can't disagree with any of it, Pat, since I've found the same to be true i.e. people rising to their own personal levels of ability and limitation.

If I were to define every smile, every word, every attempt to "make a friend" a tactic in life, I'd be looking at every situation as a win/lose situation and in that sense a battle or war, a competitve sport to gain or not, to over come or lose.

Continued success to you.

MitchM -MitchM

I don't think anybody in this forum, including myself, has suggested that you or anyone do those things.

And I don't think anybody participating in this forum, at least from their posts, sees "every situation as a win/lose situation" or "a battle or war." I think that's your fear, so therefore you read that into others' posts including mine, but I don't think anybody participating here believes those things.

The best to you! -Skip Anderson

"However, I don't agree with "don't use tactics to get a sale" because asking questions is a tactic. Being friendly is a tactic. Establishing trust and rapport is a tactic. Getting a prospect to open up to you is a tactic. Wildly successful salespeople use tactics all the time, just as accountants and golfers and teachers and firefighters do. Tactics are neither inherently good or bad, but good tactics are good." -- Skip

When I read that I reply with my perspective, Skip. If you or anyone else considers asking questions, being friendly. establishing trust and rapport, and getting a prospect to open up as tactics and these tactics work in their lives so be it.

Likewise, if someone doesn't see my equation that tactic equals win/lose, battle and war, so be it.

When is passive aggressive and aggressive counter to one's goals? When is a tactic not a tactic but civility and visa versa? We're discussing things like this - not personally but in a general way from what we post.

I try not to read into your posts and would hope that's how we all read posts - disinterested and objectively speaking. You know the challenges in that, Skip.

MitchM -MitchM

You raise some good questions, MitchM. For what it's worth, here are my thoughts on your questions:

Passive aggressive and aggressive behaviors are always bad. (But assertiveness is always good). Assertiveness celebrates both the prospect's rights and the salesperson's rights and, in fact, the rights of all human beings. Assertiveness also celebrates the rights of salespeople to do their jobs and consumers to be good consumers and make good decisions.

I believe civility is always good.

I also believe good sales tactics are good. My definition of "tactic", by the way, is from Merriam Webster: "a device for accomplishing an end." You can read it at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tactic

Maybe the word "tactics" is used often in military discussions, so maybe that's influencing our discussion, but it shouldn't because military tactics are different from confidence-building tactics or saving for retirement tactics or be a better parent tactics.

Tactics are just things. They aren't bad or good. But they can be used for bad or good. Being friendly, as I mentioned in an earlier post, is a tactic. Is there anyone that thinks being friendly is not good? It's a good tactic in selling, and it's a good tactic in life. But it's bad if you're trying to talk someone out of their life savings.

Focusing on others instead of yourself is a tactic, and is particularly beneficial when exploring prospects' needs. Presenting benefits of features and not just features alone is a tactic so prospects understand the actual benefits of owning a product or using a service. Asking prospects open-ended questions instead of closed questions to encourage conversation is a tactic. Top-performing salespeople use that tactic, and so do people making a new friend at the neighborhood coffee shop. I personally know of someone who tries to meet ten new people a day (not in a sales sense but in a friends sense) because she loves people so much. Smiling is a much better tactic than frowning. Dale Carnegie's classic book "How to Make Friends and Influence People" is full of tactics. The high probability selling book, for which you have a lot of respect, is full of tactics to accomplish an end (the end being making sales - by only selling only to those who are ready, willing and able to buy is a tactic).

And there are hundreds of tactics that we all use in our professions and in our personal lives. "Get plenty of sleep" is a tactic to an end (having enough energy to get done what we want and need to get done). Eating more vegetables and less fats is a tactic to lead a healthier lifestyle.

My post several posts ago was simply in disagreement with your statement that one should never use tactics.

The best to you! -Skip Anderson

This thread on the Principles of Selling is now closed. If you would like to discuss the topic of Principles of Selling further please start a new thread in the sales training forum. -Jeff Blackwell