Female Facts

Everyone’s in Sales

Hold on, sales pros! We apologize if we've offended by the broad-brushed statement, “everyone’s in sales.” We mean no disrespect to your profession. In fact, we've always been unabashedly on the side of sales pros, and we think everyone should learn from you…

Here’s what we mean by “everyone’s in sales”: think back to this morning…your wife shook her head disapprovingly at your donut and convinced you to eat something healthier for breakfast. Or maybe on a shopping trip, a friend told you a dress you selected would make your hips look big, so you put it back on the rack. Or you switched radio stations on your morning commute because a coworker encouraged you to try his favorite... Your wife, your friend, your colleague--none is a sales professional. Yet, they sold you. You bought an idea that was different from the one you held before.

The power of influencing others, persuasion, is at the heart of successful selling. From The Art of Woo, a president and chairman of the board of a large bank declares, “I am a salesman…I have to sell policy changes and new ideas. I sell to the board of directors, the stockholders, the branch managers, the tellers, the cleaning crew, and the customers all the time.” Bottom rung to top, we're all in sales.

Selling is persuasion and everyone needs to persuade in their careers. Fine, if you have a talent for selling. But what happens when selling isn’t in your nature…are there things you can do to be so persuasive as to sell an idea, a solution, or even you, successfully?

Why not try taking a page from women…Selling to Women™ that is. The Maddox Smye flagship program was created to help sales professionals reach what at that point were ignored customers: women. By adapting some of the techniques, even a non-sales pro can be more persuasive. So, how do you get the attention of a decision-maker and hold it long enough to persuade him/her?

1.     Start by making a great impression on the decision-maker you hope to convince. Always greet him/her warmly, using his/her name, and remember to smile confidently and make eye contact.

2.     Ask for time to meet with him/her. Explain why: to find out how you can be most helpful. Through questions and by listening carefully, you will find out if your idea satisfies a need, a desire, or a problem in the organization.

3.     Present it in a way that highlights how it meets those needs, desires, or solves the problem. Be flexible about discussing it and modifying it. Emphasize your desire to collaborate. Make it all about the decision-maker or the organization—never about you and your needs.

4.     Don’t pressure him/her; pressure is not persuasion.

5.     If you don’t have a relationship with the other person, take time to build one. If you have one, maintain it, even if your idea is rejected. A relationship creates trust, and trust will keep the door open to present it again, if appropriate, or to present a new idea.

These are the basics that can help even a non-sales professional "sell" more effectively. You want to be effective..."Ineffective people cost companies money--the bigger the company, the bigger the amount." In a business climate of inertia and decision paralysis, or where everyone is territorial, having the power to persuade not only will help your organization, it will make you more valuable to it. Indeed, "Your success depends on how well you sell."

Last week’s poll: We asked, “Of the 3 types of bad apples, which most impacts your team/workplace”? 37% deal with doom-and-gloom Depressive Pessimists; 35% with Slackers, 12% with Jerks, and a fortunate 16% aren't plagued with any bad apples. We still can't get over it—30-40% lowered productivity and performance from just ONE of these losers!

Can you help? Share your ideas in our blog.  

Sources: Judith Briles. “Everyone’s Involved in Sales—Not Just the Sales Staffers. Denver Business Journal. 17 June 2005. G. Richard Shell, Mario Moussa: The Art of Woo: Using Strategic Persuasion to Sell Your Ideas. Edmonton: Portfolio, 2007.

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