Do People Want To Be Sold To – The most pointless debate in sales?
Do People Want To Be Sold To – The most pointless debate in sales?
To be honest I wasn’t sure of the point of the rant and what he was taking offense to. The post was one on persuasion. The post was a quick quote from Dale Carnegie about human nature. The rant took offense to the terms ‘Influence, persuasion and convincing’ and essentially (I guess) tried to make the point that no one like to be sold to – they like to buy.
I would like to open this up to debate, especially to the sales training, sales consultancy and sales coaching industry.
My take on this is:
•I am a proud sales professional and would never, ever feel uncomfortable telling people this
•I am a consumer and a business to business buyer and I love being sold to. Some would argue that this is only bevcause I am in the Industry. What do you think?
•I love it when I see someone professionally show interest in me, ask me timely relevant questions and show/tell/demonstrate relevant features, benefits and outcomes that I was unsure of or better still did not know of.
•I am aware of bad practice and can detect BS a mile away. Sometimes I may even buy from bad salespeople but it is on my terms and only ever is it a one off transaction.
•I hold a high level education and have an MBA specializing in Buyer behavior and can argue the semantics of certain words with many of the ‘sales specialists’ around.
I do not, however, lose sight of the fact that many of the people that go through my sales training are young, have never been on a sales training program before, have very little awareness of open questions, could not draw up a one page feature and benefits list on their products and services and are looking for the sales skills needed to help them sell.
They would be cheated if I stood up and told them that it’s simple – “Go back to the company and create an environment where people want to buy but don’t sell to them.” That’s best left to sales consulting with the company itself.
I am an avid user of ‘PULL’ marketing and sales techniques such as social media, information giving, blogs and video but that doesn’t make me lose sight of the fact that people do like to be sold to regardless of the words we use to make it fit with our 2008 conscience.
Selling in 2008 is about transparency, information, guarantees of quality to reduce buyer risk, follow through, integrity and honesty. Don’t lose sight of the fact that the people who attend our training courses need us to mould them and shape them in the best way possible. Don’t blind them with semantics.
Give them the platform to be the very best professional salespeople they possibly can be.
Your comments would be appreciated………… you can respond via my sales blog listed below....
Do People Want To Be Sold To The most pointless debate in sales - To learn more about this author, visit Peter O'Donoghue's Website.
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I recently received a comment on one of my blog posts from a uk sales trainer which was basically a rant about the difference between Push and Pull selling and the death of ‘80,90 - BS!’.
To be honest I wasn’t sure of the point of the rant and what he was taking offense to. The post was one on persuasion. The post was a quick quote from Dale Carnegie about human nature. The rant took offense to the terms ‘Influence, persuasion and convincing’ and essentially (I guess) tried to make the point that no one like to be sold to – they like to buy.
I would like to open this up to debate, especially to the sales training, sales consultancy and sales coaching industry.
My take on this is:
•I am a proud sales professional and would never, ever feel uncomfortable telling people this
•I am a consumer and a business to business buyer and I love being sold to. Some would argue that this is only bevcause I am in the Industry. What do you think?
•I love it when I see someone professionally show interest in me, ask me timely relevant questions and show/tell/demonstrate relevant features, benefits and outcomes that I was unsure of or better still did not know of.
•I am aware of bad practice and can detect BS a mile away. Sometimes I may even buy from bad salespeople but it is on my terms and only ever is it a one off transaction.
•I hold a high level education and have an MBA specializing in Buyer behavior and can argue the semantics of certain words with many of the ‘sales specialists’ around.
I do not, however, lose sight of the fact that many of the people that go through my sales training are young, have never been on a sales training program before, have very little awareness of open questions, could not draw up a one page feature and benefits list on their products and services and are looking for the sales skills needed to help them sell.
They would be cheated if I stood up and told them that it’s simple – “Go back to the company and create an environment where people want to buy but don’t sell to them.” That’s best left to sales consulting with the company itself.
I am an avid user of ‘PULL’ marketing and sales techniques such as social media, information giving, blogs and video but that doesn’t make me lose sight of the fact that people do like to be sold to regardless of the words we use to make it fit with our 2008 conscience.
Selling in 2008 is about transparency, information, guarantees of quality to reduce buyer risk, follow through, integrity and honesty. Don’t lose sight of the fact that the people who attend our training courses need us to mould them and shape them in the best way possible. Don’t blind them with semantics.
Give them the platform to be the very best professional salespeople they possibly can be.
Your comments would be appreciated………… you can respond via my sales blog listed below....
Do People Want To Be Sold To The most pointless debate in sales - To learn more about this author, visit Peter O'Donoghue's Website.
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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