Why Good Salesmen are Not the Enemy

Ever since seeing people selling things at my door and my parent’s getting  telemarketing calls on the land line ,and believe it or not, taking a sales class in college, I’ve had a sour taste in my mouth for sales, and although I don’t think I want it to be my job -because I love marketing- I think I now see the value in it, especially in business.

Last night’s Praxis Wednesday was all about sales and we were joined by Jack Sayler he talked about the art and science behind the sales industry. 

We were encouraged to think about solutions ourselves before going to managers, this helps you be more creative, and a better critical thinker. Salesmen have to come up with solutions to problems, sometimes on the spot, others, over time, but its a continual challenge, and a wonderful one at that. They’re more responsive to the market and their customer this way.

I’ve heard it before but I wrote down the quoted: “you owe it to your customers to sell to them, if your product will help them.” Between the lines, I believe, it acknowledges that there are bad salesmen out there, or at least some with bad intentions. A good salesman is a very good resource, and, essentially, the lifeblood of the business.

You have to be good at communication, especially nonverbal communication too. It’s over half of sales, and as Jack noted, product knowledge is only 15% of it. Skill is the remaining 25%. This is an interesting balance to consider. 

Something else that stuck with me even if it isn’t directly related to sales was Jack’s quote: “Do what it takes to be successful even when no one is watching”. This challenged me to do things for me, to build my skills, so that I can provide value to others in the future.