Selling As Art, Not Science
Selling As Art, Not Science
At one time, salespeople (called salesmen in those days) used to work on their enthusiasm, passion and persuasiveness. Old timer’s like Frank Bettger (author of How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling) wrote and spoke in aphorisms like, “If you want to be enthusiastic, act enthusiastic.” I met an old timer in a Memphis clothing store, who at 83 still sells, and lives by the motto: “Show and tell, show and sell!”
Maybe I crave the simplicity of the art of selling because we live in an increasingly complex world, and the old principles of selling were profoundly simple. In fact, their brilliance was their simplicity. Today, selling books are filled with models, techniques, processes, and strategic planning. The art of selling (AOS) is simpler than the science of selling.
AOS Principle: The sale is more about the customer than the seller.
If you buy into this simple principle, it means you will do several things. You will listen more than talk. You will ask questions that put the spotlight on the customer. You will customize your solution to look a lot like your customer’s needs. You will define your success as helping your customer achieve high levels of success. You will define value in terms that make sense to your customer. You will use the customer’s language to describe your solution.
AOS Principle: You get what you ask for.
No one in business gets what they deserve, they get what they ask for. You get the order when you ask for it. Few companies and salespeople get credit for everything they do for customers. You get credit when you ask for it. You don’t get the higher price if you don’t ask for it. Old timers knew that nothing happens until someone sells something, and that doesn’t happen until you ask for the business. That’s your job, not the customer’s.
AOS Principle: Rejection means you’re making sales calls.
If you’re not getting rejected every once in a while, it means you’re not making enough sales calls, especially on customers who are likely to reject you — prospects. No rejection means you’re playing it safe — calling only on those customers who will buy your stuff. What about all those people who are not buying your stuff? That’s where opportunity lies — in the unsold buyers. Old timers accepted rejection as part of the job, an occupational hazard. They wore out shoe leather trying to get to those unsold buyers. They traveled on trains, rode in un-air-conditioned cars, and flew in propeller airplanes to meet with these unsold buyers.
AOS Principle: Nothing great was ever accomplished by a quitter.
How many great innovations were designed by a quitter? None. The old saying, “A winner never quits and a quitter never wins” was the motivational thinking the old timers relied on. They knew that quitting was not an option if they wanted to succeed. They also relied on that other old chestnut, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” If you quit inches short of the finish line, you’re still a quitter.
AOS Principle: Plan your work and work your plan.
Fewer than one in four salespeople have a detailed plan of attack for their number one account. Fewer than ten percent of salespeople plan their sales calls. Old timers used to say, “No one plans to fail, but many fail to plan.” Simple thinking. Simple selling. Start your week with a simple plan for sales success and work that plan all week. Avoid the distractions along the way.
AOS Principle: Happy customers come back.
Today, market researchers invest heavily in studying the link between customer satisfaction, retention, loyalty and a company’s bottom line. When I share this startling data with groups that I speak to, old timers come up to me and say, “Heck, we knew a long time ago that you want happy customers.” They are almost embarrassed for me. Old timers don’t need market research to know that it makes dollars and sense to keep your customers happy, and if they are really happy, they will bring their friends with them the next time. Eureka! That’s an amazingly contemporary marketing concept.
I think we have lost something by making sales a science. There is an art to this profession and we would do well to remember that, especially those of us who are serious students of this profession. And before all of the old timers retire, take them out to lunch and pick their brains. They have the wisdom of the ages to share with you. They will help you see the artistic value of what we do. We are salesmen and saleswomen, following in the great traditions and shadows of those giants who walked before us. Lest we forget our heritage.
Selling As Art Not Science - To learn more about this author, visit Tom Reilly's Website.
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I think I liked it better when selling was more art than science. Of course, I have a BA/MA in psychology versus a BS/MS in psychology. Maybe it’s an educational bias. But, selling used to be an art form. Today, the science of selling dominates the book shelves. PDA, CRM, and SFA have taken the place of K.I.S.S.
At one time, salespeople (called salesmen in those days) used to work on their enthusiasm, passion and persuasiveness. Old timer’s like Frank Bettger (author of How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling) wrote and spoke in aphorisms like, “If you want to be enthusiastic, act enthusiastic.” I met an old timer in a Memphis clothing store, who at 83 still sells, and lives by the motto: “Show and tell, show and sell!”
Maybe I crave the simplicity of the art of selling because we live in an increasingly complex world, and the old principles of selling were profoundly simple. In fact, their brilliance was their simplicity. Today, selling books are filled with models, techniques, processes, and strategic planning. The art of selling (AOS) is simpler than the science of selling.
AOS Principle: The sale is more about the customer than the seller.
If you buy into this simple principle, it means you will do several things. You will listen more than talk. You will ask questions that put the spotlight on the customer. You will customize your solution to look a lot like your customer’s needs. You will define your success as helping your customer achieve high levels of success. You will define value in terms that make sense to your customer. You will use the customer’s language to describe your solution.
AOS Principle: You get what you ask for.
No one in business gets what they deserve, they get what they ask for. You get the order when you ask for it. Few companies and salespeople get credit for everything they do for customers. You get credit when you ask for it. You don’t get the higher price if you don’t ask for it. Old timers knew that nothing happens until someone sells something, and that doesn’t happen until you ask for the business. That’s your job, not the customer’s.
AOS Principle: Rejection means you’re making sales calls.
If you’re not getting rejected every once in a while, it means you’re not making enough sales calls, especially on customers who are likely to reject you — prospects. No rejection means you’re playing it safe — calling only on those customers who will buy your stuff. What about all those people who are not buying your stuff? That’s where opportunity lies — in the unsold buyers. Old timers accepted rejection as part of the job, an occupational hazard. They wore out shoe leather trying to get to those unsold buyers. They traveled on trains, rode in un-air-conditioned cars, and flew in propeller airplanes to meet with these unsold buyers.
AOS Principle: Nothing great was ever accomplished by a quitter.
How many great innovations were designed by a quitter? None. The old saying, “A winner never quits and a quitter never wins” was the motivational thinking the old timers relied on. They knew that quitting was not an option if they wanted to succeed. They also relied on that other old chestnut, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” If you quit inches short of the finish line, you’re still a quitter.
AOS Principle: Plan your work and work your plan.
Fewer than one in four salespeople have a detailed plan of attack for their number one account. Fewer than ten percent of salespeople plan their sales calls. Old timers used to say, “No one plans to fail, but many fail to plan.” Simple thinking. Simple selling. Start your week with a simple plan for sales success and work that plan all week. Avoid the distractions along the way.
AOS Principle: Happy customers come back.
Today, market researchers invest heavily in studying the link between customer satisfaction, retention, loyalty and a company’s bottom line. When I share this startling data with groups that I speak to, old timers come up to me and say, “Heck, we knew a long time ago that you want happy customers.” They are almost embarrassed for me. Old timers don’t need market research to know that it makes dollars and sense to keep your customers happy, and if they are really happy, they will bring their friends with them the next time. Eureka! That’s an amazingly contemporary marketing concept.
I think we have lost something by making sales a science. There is an art to this profession and we would do well to remember that, especially those of us who are serious students of this profession. And before all of the old timers retire, take them out to lunch and pick their brains. They have the wisdom of the ages to share with you. They will help you see the artistic value of what we do. We are salesmen and saleswomen, following in the great traditions and shadows of those giants who walked before us. Lest we forget our heritage.
Selling As Art Not Science - To learn more about this author, visit Tom Reilly'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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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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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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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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