What Are You Selling?

POINT TO PONDER

Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life...

                    -Khalil Gibran

STORYLINE by Rajiv Shah. Excerpt from “The Everything Selling Book” by Marguerite Smolen.

I'm working constantly at selling my wares to prospective buyers. It seems that I have had some difficulty as of late and have turned to simple sales books to help me in my quest to help solve my dilemma. In a passage from “The Everything Selling Book” by Marguerite Smolen, an experiment really stood out and highlights attitudes we might have that extend far beyond the sales world and into other professions as well. The experiment is this: from the lines below which word highlighted in each line, in your view, is the most important in becoming a successful salesperson?

 

1. To succeed at sales, you must sell.

2. To succeed at sales, you must sell.

3. To succeed at sales, you must sell.

4. To succeed at sales, you must sell.

5. To succeed at sales, you must sell.

 

According to Smolen, if you picked #1, it seems that the focus is results oriented. That can be good for meeting numbers but might also be limiting in hearing the customers needs if selling is the end all and be all. It is based on an external motivator.

For #2 the word 'sales' suggests a thing you do which can be looked at as a separate entity. Depending on how you feel about sales will determine how you approach the task. It puts focus on something that you can distance yourself from. Thoughts like, “I'm not really a salesperson,” will often come into play and can be limiting. Or, I am great at sales and it motivates you to get better.

Choosing #3 suggests that you are not necessarily wanting to sell but you 'must' for a variety of different reasons. We often don't like doing things we have to do, things we feel we are forced to, and a feeling of 'must' comes with negative emotions towards that action. Sometimes a must can motivate us as well but it is often dictated by forces we often feel are out of our control.

If you were drawn to #4, the word 'succeed' is the end goal. Often we focus on success rather than the tasks in front of us that allow us to achieve it. It is putting the focus on the future, about success that is coming rather than doing the work in the moment in order to achieve it. Success is the result that comes from process.

Choosing #5 is internally motivated. It focuses on you and what your values are and how you execute your own personal mission statement. Who you are, what state you are in, and how you treat others is what you receive in return. You are the most important part of the process and are in control of your own destiny. Of course, one can always be too focused on themselves, their process, and are not able to be flexible or hear customer needs.

REFLECTION

Each choice has its positive and negative attributes. There isn't right or wrong, just ways we can improve, and we can always do that. Recognizing who we are and what we are motivated by are important, but how we choose to implement that into action is what really counts.

 

 

 

Comments

[California Guy]

I chose #5 because the emphasis allows me to frame success in terms of my inner values and principles. Success is ultimately not based on a relative comparison to others but on relative progress to personal goals that are consistent with my values and principles.

I also agree that there is no right or wrong choice. Only a recognition to be aware of the positive and negative attributes of each choice. And even the notion of positive and negative is relative to each individual.

[eastcoast]

A wonderful “Reflection”. I learned much about myself, some things that I like, others that I do not.

I have recently read another article which I will clip and send on to you.

Take care,

[alex]

choosing 5-emphasis on responsibility