Selling the endeavour of hard working people

The much vaunted phrase  “ for hard-working people” continues to be used by the Government and Opposition politicians. It is used by those who favour the Brexit and those who wish to remain in the EU. .

Part of the reason it is used by the political PR folk is to resonate with those enduring the strategy of austerity  to show they are appreciated but also to encourage them to carry own.

Well some of the hardest working people I  work with are salespeople !!!

Let’s take a look at what makes up this fantastic group of people responsible for bringing in revenue to their organisations in the top entry of the Profit and Loss Account as well as providing for their families and our nation's prosperity.

To understand your full responsibility as a professional salesperson you need to look at your job  from three different perspectives:

·         Your own

·         Your client’s

·         Your company’s

The professional sales professional of today has to combine many roles and satisfy many needs.

Your own viewpoint

The first place a sales is made is in your head. So let’s start with you and your

viewpoint

Hard worker:  results come from a combination of ability and effort, but without effort you will never be truly successful in the long term.

Self manager:  you are your own boss for most of your working time and you are responsible for your own organisation, target setting, motivation and control.

Optimist:  you must be positive and enthusiastic and expect success or it will not happen, and you must be able to pick yourself up after things have gone wrong - focus on opportunities and challenges rather than problems.

Realist:  optimism must be tinged with realism - things will not always be easy, mistakes will be made, what you need to do will not always be what you want to do.

All of these can be summed up as having the right positive mental attitude to your job.

Your client’s viewpoint

To be fully effective in opening, building, maintaining and servicing an account there are four different roles that you will have to be able to adopt, depending on the situation that you face at any one time.  They are:

1. Diplomat:  a friendly representative who relates well to other people.

2. Bulldozer: a persuasive communicator who clearly communicates what his organisation can offer.

3. Administrator: an efficient organiser who makes things happen as they should.

4. Consultative Seller a business adviser who helps to identify and satisfy client needs and analyse and solve their problems.

You will need to spend most of your time in the consultative seller role - it is this image of being a ‘trusted adviser and/or ‘problem solver’ who acts in the client’s interest which will set you apart from your competition.  There will be  times, however, when you will need to slip into one of the other roles to carry out a particular part of the total sales function.

The real professional has the sensitivity and flexibility to be able to focus on the right role at the right time for the right person - but remember that you must always aim to move back into the consultative seller role as soon as one of the others has served its purpose.

Your company’s viewpoint

If your clients are happy then your manager is likely to be happy also. But there are other roles you need to fulfil to complete your responsibilities to your own organisation:

Researcher:  obtaining and feeding back information about customers, competitors and the market in general. You after all should have your finger on the pulse of your territory.

Public Relations Officer:  projecting an image of professionalism and quality on behalf of your company. To many clients you will be the face of your company.

Business Manager:  contributing to profitability by doing everything to minimise costs and increase sales and cash flow.

Planner and forecaster :  developing your sales territory and your accounts by looking ahead and using the right strategy and tactics.

Your personal success depends on your own efforts.  To ensure success you will need to be  with a business directed style :-

Conversational selling and personalising your offer to your contact

A truly professional sales executive does not appear to ‘sell’.  You must appear to your client to be simply holding a conversation - listening and discussing with them and their needs.  

The twin skills of questioning and listening help you to carry out the consultative seller role and to sell conversationally.  The other main key is to give your discussions is personalising the benefits of your offer - by thinking and talking in terms of your contact’s interests and by using the words ‘you’ , ‘your’ and you’ll as often as possible.  You are there to provide a ‘solution’ to the customers needs, and to build value and trust.

Professional selling is helping people to buy what they have a need for , in any case.

Selling is more than just a job - it's a career, a lifestyle 'for hard working people' whatever their politics and vital to our country.

Related Links


Institute of Sales and Marketing Management

Chartered Institute of Marketing

Institute of Directors

Government Start up loans