Published December 19, 2011 | 
The game is changing. Far too many people in business have not realized that as yet. However it is absolutely true. We must change the way we think about business. The game of business is totally changing and if you are going to stay up in front and lead the pack, then you need to be willing to change as well. You can no longer have yourself and your sales people focus on products. They are not to be product pushers, they are meant to be problem solvers!
Go beyond the past. Much of sales in the past consisted of the sales person convincing the buyer that what he/she had was for them, and without it, their life would be miserable, at the worst, and less convenient, at the best. Sales were based on product that needed to be sold, or was the most expensive and how one could convince or manipulate you into deciding that you needed that one product.
The sales person would cajole, they would plead, they would play on your emotions and they would try every “closing” trick they knew to get you to say yes. Truth was sometimes tainted, if not non-existent. There are still many companies that believe that is the way to sell, and there are many more sales people that are taught to manipulate, stretch the truth, and more, to get you to say “yes.”
Could that be the reason that sales people are not well thought of? Could it possibly be one of the reasons that you see “no soliciting” signs at the door? We must go beyond the past and embrace the new game of doing business and selling. However, it will require a new type of focus for those of us who endeavor to sell.
Be a trusted voice in the wilderness. Instead of the sales person trying their best to sell a particular product, it is time to recognize that clients/customers are looking for someone who could be the trusted voice in the wilderness. A voice is needed that would not steer them wrong. People desire a voice that is not selfish, but actually is looking out for the customer/client first. That voice has been rare in the past, but there is a new game in town. It is a game where one takes the role of a trusted advisor, and often, because he/she is trusted, what they say carries incredible weight towards a purchase.
It is however, a voice, that may just say, “This product, our product, is not for you.” It is a voice that looks out for what is needed by the customer/client, first and foremost. It is a trusted voice, and dare I say, not just “A” trusted voice. People desire someone to be their trusted voice in the wilderness of buying and selling.
Find solutions to problems. In order to be your client’s trusted advisor, you will need to change your approach. You will need to change directions and change the emphasis from products to problems, and, then find solutions of those problems. The client in todayäó»s new realm of business and sales is eagerly seeking out someone that is finding solutions to their problems.
Could that be why we are now reaching out millions of times a day, as a culture, to the internet attempting to find the best solution to our issues, the correct answer to our questions, and the ultimate solutions to our problems? It is time we recognize that consumers today are smarter, more versed in the subject at hand, and wise to the “sales closes” used so often in the past.
