All You Need is Sell

Selling is perceived by many people as a bad thing. Often, when we think about a salesman we imagine someone who has dollar signs in his eyes, someone that will do anything to get into our wallets and take our money away. We imagine something bad and we feel rejection. It is true that there are some salesmen that behave exactly like that, which is sad. Yet, whether we want it or even know it, we are all without exception active salespeople.

We keep on selling every day, all day. We sell to our communities, families, colleagues, friends, pets, authorities, clients and even to ourselves. We are each our own best client. Whether we do it successfully or not is a different question, but there is no doubt that we are salespeople.

Selling is much more than trading merchandise for money. That’s just one, private way to sell that falls under the broader umbrella of selling. Selling has more to do with the exchange of ideas. When person A persuades person B about an idea, a sale has occured. For example, right now as you read I am selling. I am selling you the idea that you are a salesperson.

Let’s have a look at some more examples:

• A father needs to put his children to sleep. The kids are busy with their end-of-the-day celebration, shouting and running wild all over the place. If he wants to make it happen he will need to sell to his kids that the idea of going to sleep is a good idea for them. He can entice them by promising candies, or a bedtime story. He can also frighten them by suggesting a punishment for those who will not obey. Either way he sells.
• A classic selling event is a bunch of ladies having coffee together. An enormous amount of ideas are being exchanged. Many women are simply amazing in sales. While they chat they show continuous interest in each other. You will often hear questions like: “Where did you get this awesome haircut?”. “You look fabulous, Where did you buy this dress/boots/earrings/whatever?”. They share opinions: “I think you are making a huge mistake by staying with this guy. You deserve much more”. “This chicken is just delicious, you must give me the recipe”. They always sell.
• An employee wants to get a raise in her salary. She needs to sell her boss the idea that she deserves it and that the company will actually benefit from her getting more money. She can either explain why this will increase her productivity and hope that the boss will buy the idea or either increase her productivity and that alone will sell the idea she deserves more. Depends on the boss…
• A young guy is going to a party. He’s shorter than most of the girls at the party, so this small dude doesn’t feel comfortable flirting with any of them. He even ignores the smiles that some beautiful women flash at him. Society sold this guy the idea that short men are not attractive, and he chose to believe in this idea and since then he keeps selling it to himself over and over again.

As we can see selling is everywhere and we are always busy with it. If so, isn’t it extremely important that we become successful in the art of selling? Isn’t it crucial for us to constantly develop and sharpen our selling skills? After all, this can make the difference between being a leader or being led. This may determine if we will get what we want in life or not.

Now that I’ve praised this fine art of selling, it would be a crime not to offer some initial steps for those who want to acquire this skills. Here are my tips for you:

• Work in sales. This is a little scary for someone who’s never done it before. Don’t worry, your anxiety is natural. Many people find it hard to get rejected. But be persistent, and it won’t be long before you’ll feel comfortable with people saying no to you. Remember that no one is rejecting you – they are rejecting your ideas. This occupation is like standing in front of mirror because you always get immediate feedback on you behavior. After a short time you will discover that you have earned money and at the same time you have learned a lot about yourself and this can be very rewarding.
• Listen. Life gives us a little hint. We are given two ears, but only one mouth, as if to say that listening is at least twice important than speaking. This is one of the most difficult tasks to implement. We are so used to interrupting each other with our own stuff. This is so mind-closing. Try selling something to someone you just cut off. Your chances have declined dramatically. Always let the other person finish speaking. While he speaks, listen carefully and feel his presence, observe his body language. What is he saying? What is his mood? Only allow yourself to answer when the other person has finished. Chances are that if you do, your response will be much more to the point, and your chances to sell increase.
• Add Value. Always be thinking about how you can add value to a situation. Let’s take the example of the employee who wants a raise. If she comes to her boss and starts telling him how life is expensive and that she needs more money, her chances will be low because she’s relying on her boss’s kindness, which may not always exist. But if she uses a different approach by showing the boss that he benefits by increasing her salary, then her boss will feel that he gets value for his money and will readily raise her salary.
• Timing. This is a very crucial aspect of selling. You need to cook the stew before serving it. You cannot just throw an idea at someone. Many times people have really great ideas. They can’t wait to tell (sell) them to the right person. They wait and wait and here he comes. They immediately jump on the poor guy and, full of enthusiasm,  spit everything at him. The poor dude does not even listen. He’s just arrived, he is still not with them, and the idea falls apart because of bad timing. Had they waited just a little while and held the idea inside until the other person was prepared, the chances of selling would increase.

Selling is a power. Once you know how to sell, you can get anything. Like with every power you can either use it, abuse it or ignore it. I hope you bought the idea that I sold here and that you will choose to use it for improving your life and others. Use it to become a successful person. Use it wisely.