My mom tells a story about being newly married and going to shop for basic furnishings when she and my dad were in college, and operating on a less than adequate budget. They found 2 rooms full of furniture that would suit their needs, but financing wasn’t then available as it is in most furniture stores today. So the salesman came up with his best suggestion to close the sale. “Why don’t you sell your car and buy the furniture?,” he shamelessly volunteered! That’s sales. Selling people on something that isn’t in their best interests. My parents walked out on that man, and you better believe they never came back to buy anything from him—all of which illustrates a simple truth. People sense when you don’t have their best interests at heart, and when they do, they dismiss you as a sales person looking for a commission.
While many of us do not enjoy the sales process, most of us could really get into marketing. Because marketing is all about demonstrating our genuine interest in people and helping them to get what they need. When we make such recommendations, we earn trust and attention, and with those invaluable keys, we can earn our way into the hearts of our clients. And even more, when people truly benefit from your services, they not only remember you with fondness and gratitud—they tell others about you! So the secret to marketing is to learn to listen to your clients, identify what they really need, and strategize solutions that will truly bring them benefit. To the extent that you do so, you will find your sales skyrocketing overflowing.
