The Perfect Salesman

Unimaginable to us educated individuals who feel they can resist any trick plotted by a salesman, is the idea that some strange man or woman could actually succeed in selling us something that we did not want or think we needed.

It is true, unfortunately, that even the most dismissing and rude of us, to whom salesmen are the chewing gum that sticks to your shoe on the street; annoying and persistent, even to these people salesmen can work their magic.

How do they do this??


The answer is difficult, but still obvious. A good salesman plays on your emotions, enters your soul and pulls out your weaknesses and doubts. As evil as that sounds, a good salesman can actually make you feel good about your purchase at the end of the day.

And don't be fooled about your knowledge of where salespeople reside! A salesman can be hiding anywhere, including the not-so-innocent-looking charities.

                  Most organisations believe that sales and marketing are the same thing, but that's not true. Marketing supports sales, it does not go out and talk to clients or consumers to sell them something. Marketing promotes, it acts as a secret weapon to an organisation's revenue and profit increase. Yet sales is the forefront army that fights to get the money in.

So what makes salesmen successful? Well... in my marketing degree I was told that there is a several stage process to a successful salesperson, including finding your best alternative to a negotiated agreement, finding out as much as you can about the other party etc. Yet a good salesman is a person who can really see the problem and offer an excellent solution, without making you feel worse about the problem or without making you back out at the last minute.

Salespeople come in different forms and sizes, they can be the sales assistant at a department store or a telesales person from the local non-profit organisation. No matter what place or representation the salesman stands for, he or she still needs to have outstanding relationship and communication skills to be able to befriend, persuade and satisfy the customer.

So, a salesperson at Selfridges, working behind the beauty counter, should have a perfect knowledge of all products as well as knowledge of what customers look for and need to combat all possible problems they may have. At the same time a telesales person at, for example WWF, will need to know how to approach potential customers by understanding what it is that makes them donate to charities, and why that individual person might want to give money for a good reason.

It may seem as simple, but selling is not something you can just learn. It is a skill, a motivation, a challenge that brings big bucks to an organisation, which in the end is not the easiest job in the world.