I'm Really Not That Good a Sales Rep

“I’m really not that good a sales rep.” That’s the comment someone made to me recently. It would’ve been appropriate and hardly worth mentioning had it been from a new salesperson. But this one sold $1 million worth of print…

… In October 2016.

As we talked a little bit further, I came to understand what she meant. My words, not hers: “I don’t actually 'sell' anything. I advise. I don’t take people to lunch. I don’t find out what they did this weekend and then ramble on on that subject as if I'm an expert. People are busy. I feel as though my job is to get in, do my thing, and get out. I’m busy. I get it. It’s how I would want to be sold to if I was a buyer.”

The conversation led me to think about something I have long believed: most of us sell in the same way we, ourselves, like to be sold to. Perhaps it comes from observation and personal experience but I think all of us have a vision in our heads about what we believe to be “normal” and that’s what we strive for.

I think it’s a great idea to improve yourself as a salesperson simply by paying attention and watching others. You can learn something from the waiter, or the person who hands you your coffee, or even the pastor of your church as happened to me one Sunday morning recently.

Very few of us were fortunate enough to have traditional sales training. My brother and I talk about this all the time (we were both products of an excellent sales education program at UARCO). Therefore, life becomes the teacher for most.

Are you paying attention?

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Bill Farquharson can be reached at (781) 934-7036 or bfarquharson@idealliance.org

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