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suggesting is NOT selling


People and companies want to buy from people that they trust.  The individual which possesses the broadest set of knowledge will gain the most credibility and as a result yield high levels of trust.  When I was in the field I definitely had the ear of the customer and for the most part discussed areas that needed improvement or replacement. At no moment was I ever, at least in my mind, selling. Instead, as I think back on those days, I believe I was simply "suggesting". Take an immediate need, add in a trusted advisor and a credible suggestion, you will most likely get a sale. However, this is not selling.



From my non-salesman perspective I would sum up the following related to the sales process; sales is not a single event but instead a sequence of connection points which create a positive experience that leads to a purchase. Over the years I've been fortunate to have known many different types of salespeople in different industries and I believe that they all are masterful in their own ways. Many are career-based salespeople which started in sales and remain in sales today. Others started in different parts of the business, sometimes in the field and sometimes from the office. The best have been those with a clear understanding, not necessarily all of the details, of the problem their product is designed to solve. Often it seems logical when you have an  extroverted field person that you should start to work with them to become a salesperson. While this may be a great opportunity for both the individual and the company it should be approached with caution and a deliberate plan of development. Unfortunately it is often seen that the move from the office to the field or the field to the office does not go as smoothly as logic might suggest. Mechanisms that you can put in place to capture and share client and domain knowledge from all within your organization will pay off in spades. 



So who really is your best salesperson, I reckon the one that can close the deal!



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Next post:  is any "one" worker an expert at everything?

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