How does a business become successful? Is it about the quality of the product or service? The customer experience? The convenience? The local need? Building a successful company is about all of those things. But it all really comes down to SALES. But, Sales Is Not a Department. You can have the best product with the most helpful team, but if you can’t close the deal, your business will still fail.
For many people “sales” is a dirty word. Selling is what you do to people. Selling is flogging stuff to innocent people who don’t really need or want it. Selling is getting people to buy something when it isn’t really in their interest to do so. In short, for some people, you shouldn’t need to “sell”. Do a good job, and people will come to you when they’re ready. If your people see sales as something rather distasteful, they’re unlikely to buy into the philosophy that sales is everyone’s responsibility. But there are ways to counter this. Consider the following three areas for your salespeople.
- Define terms. Ask your people what it is your company does and why your customers buy from you. By providing those products or services in exchange for money, you are selling.
- Focus on the customer. Ask them what they think is important to the customer. Good service? Prompt attention? Courteous communication? Great range of solutions? All of those things make it easy for your customer to get what they need and what they want.
- Challenge their self-perception. Ask them how important they – as individuals – are in making the customer happy. If they can’t answer this, it would suggest they are unable to see their value to the company and ultimately to your customers.
Sales Is Not a Department | The Process
By definition, the term “sales” refers to all activities involved in selling a product or service to a consumer or business. But in practice, it means so much more. Companies staff entire departments with employees dedicated to selling their products and services. Salespeople reach out to contacts that might be interested in purchasing the product or service that their company is selling. That is, prospects that demonstrate interest through actions like visiting the company website or interacting with the company on social media.
The goal is to reach out to leads who have shown interest in or fit the description of the company’s target customer. That is, to provide them with a solution that results in a purchase of your product or service. By presenting an answer to a problem or issues, instead of simply promoting your product, you’ll acquire new customers and keep them satisfied.
