This week I decided to look into old methods of sales. There were many articles that compared the old ways to the new and challenged the idea of anything changing at all. One article that I found struck my interest when talking about old selling techniques vs. what works now which is making relationships.
One of my favorites points that were made were making sure that you and the client are a good fit which challenges the old perspective of the ending goal being closing the sale at all costs. To go in depth a little about this point I find it extremely useful to see sales as a two way street. You want to be selling to the right people to ensure that you are providing your good or service to the person or demographic that it was intended for. You also do not want to waste time on customers that will not be a good fit for your mission (as we heard about in class examples of selling horror stories.)
The other interesting point that was made in this article is stopping the sales pitch and starting to build relationships instead. This I think is one of the most vital shifts that is happening in sales. It is so important to build relationship so that you can further understand what the client needs and ultimately try to provide that to them in a way that is beneficial for both parties, as we often talk about in lecture!
http://marketing.about.com/od/salestraining/a/stopselling.htm
BoweryJE22
I definitely agree with this shift in sales. It is extremely important to also make sure that during the time you form a relationship with these potential clients, you also have to close the sale. Forming a relationship through listening and learning what they want to close the sale can be extremely beneficial.
professor sweet made a great point about the “evolution of sales”. the iconic salesman is falling out of the picture and being replaced with product experts and companies having all there employees sell from the position their in. good post
I wonder if this new process of sales will be able to overcome the bad feelings associated with the old. Will people ever really be willing to trust a salesperson? A lot of people make fun of companies for renaming the sales position, thinking that it’s an attempt to hide the true essence of the position, but I don’t think that’s why they do it. I think they change the position title because it is so difficult to be successful in this new realm of sales when the shadow of the old is still looming by.