Are we all sales people?

You meet a guy or a girl that you like.  You flirt a bit.  Your face lights up in smile, your best manners come out and when you set up a date, you know you have to find the best outfit you have, or buy another one.  On the first date, you tell them all about the summer you spent working with sick kids, the fact that you just love house work (“it’s soothing”), and you also stress the point that you can run 5km in 30 minutes.

All your ‘bad traits’ are kept under wraps, for now.  You are selling your best side to the opposite sex.  It’s the same when we go for a job interview, when we try to charm the airline staff into upgrading us to business class, or when we only put ‘the good” photos of ourselves up on social networking sites like Facebook.

The fact is, that humans try to get what they want and in today’s society more than ever, everyone is a salesperson.  The principle of selling is not to force someone to do something they don't want to do, but rather, to discover a need or want, some situation that they don't want and then help them solve the problem through finding a correct solution.

We are not looking to sell people things they don’t want.  Sales is about persuasion.  Persuading a customer of their needs and wants and finding a solution.

Therefore, the first tool in the art of sales, is finding what it is that you want.  Aim for a specific result, be positive and use sensory data (see, hear, feel). 

Building rapport is the next tool for making a sale. When we establish rapport with someone we have a sense of connection.  There is a level of comfort and trust.  Rather than being “you” and “me”, we become a “team” or “we”.  Every one at some time has felt like this.  We feel comfortable and are more open to topics and discussion.  Often, you can close a sale because you have rapport with the other person.

A third strategy that is proven to be effective in sales is to identify the features and benefits.  When trying to convince your partner that you must go on that Golf weekend with the boys, you will point out benefits and advantages.  When you want to talk your children into eating their vegetable at dinner, you tell them there will be a benefit or advantage if they do!

Are we all sales people?  Tell us your thoughts…