A friend relates the following story: "Once, after having just turned twenty-one, my visiting uncle decided that the best thing for me to do in my life would be to become a salesman. I remember thinking, ëA salesman?' I don't think I could do that. This was the summer after Uncle had seen me as an entrepreneur, and tried to start me off in my own landscaping business by buying me a ëroof-mower,' which was basically a lawn mower with a huge propeller blade sticking out of the front." The mower did a couple of high-grass jobs, but for the most part remained parked in the garage gathering cobwebs. Not interested in this venture after Uncle went home, my friend went to work pumping gas at the local filling station.
"This summer," my friend said, "Uncle insisted that I was a natural born salesman, that a good salesperson would always be in demand, and that no matter who hired me, I should insist on receiving no base salaryógetting paid strictly on commission. Uncle even went so far as to take an ad out in the local paper advertising what he believed were my sales skills. The ad read, "Salesman looking for product to sell. POISONOUS PERSONALITY. Commission only." The result was the phone ringing off the hook for days with dozens of employment offers. I found out I could make money just by being myself. And I've been involved with sales ever since."
The interesting part of the story to me is the part about the poisonous personality. When you ask most salespeople what it is that made them successful, how many of them say "I have a good personality?" Not many. Indeed, the answer to that question usually has to do with being a good closer, having good qualifying skills, or having extensive knowledge about the product they are selling. The fact is, regardless of the sales skills or the product, if the salesperson didn't have a good personality to begin with, none of the above would matter.
That said, it is also fair to say that a good personality alone does not eliminate your need to also be a masterful salesperson. The friendly smile and personality gets you only half-way through the doors of opportunity; knowledge of effective sales techniques gets you through the other half. Even when having the friendliest of rapport with a regular customer, remember, sometimes even your friends need to be sold.
How does the average Joe or Jane become a huge sales success?
There are a lot of things you can do. But the first thing is to realize that a large part of sales is developing relationshipsóor business friendships. Think about your best customers. How did they become that way? Don't you have a great relationship with them? If you are friends with your best customer, it will often eliminate the need for price negotiating and other general demands. Not to mention the referrals. You can even occasionally give bad service óand still keep the customer. There's also another huge bonus to building a friendly relationshipóand that is your competition is virtually eliminated. Go ahead, let your competitor try stealing you away from your customer, who considers you also a friend. It's not going to happen very easily.
So how do you build these fruitful relationships if you are not one born with that same poisonous personality trait? The answer is s-l-o-w-l-y. It takes time to develop a relationship; it takes time to build a friendship. (If you are reading this and thinking that you don't have time for this relationship stuffóyou're too busy trying to make salesóI urge you to find another profession, because this one won't last long).
Here are a few suggestions of places to meet or take your customer. A venue other than the office will begin building friendships and relationships.
I would also suggest joining a business association and getting involved. Network with other professionals in your community. Every community has a group of business owners and managers whose main goal is to do business with one another and help members get business. But guess what? You will find that these groups are not just about business óthey are about building relationships and friendships.
My friend's uncle had noticed his ability to be able talk with anyone. To immediately make friends with total strangers. To gain the trust of peopleóand make them want to do things for him. Indeed, knowing my friend today, I see him as a person who has the gift of gab, and what seems to be a genuine interest in other people. I'm sure many of his clients have told him, as I have on many occasions, that he could sell ice to the Eskimos óthat he is a natural born salesman.
