I think that this saying can definitely be useful when looking at the sales process. The ultimate goal as a salesman is to secure the sale, yes. However, success is not found in trying to race to that point. A good salesman understands that some buyers take longer than others to get to the point of accepting a sale. Trying to rush people to accept terms or buy a product will surely put some people off. No one wants to be force-fed anything.
I would argue that this is the biggest difference between traditional and relationship selling. The traditional approach is to rush into everything and spend the most time on the close. This has been proven to be less effective than the relationship sell, where a salesman takes time to understand the the problem of the buyer and how their product can be of use to them. So when in sales, take your time. Don’t try to rush into the sale. Make sure both parties are moving at a reasonable pace and understand each other.
BoweryJE22
I think your insight here is inarguable: taking the emphasis off of the speed of the sell is definitely the core distinction between traditional and relational selling. Time and patient listening are always required for understanding the customer’s true pain.
I would definitely agree. Time can be a huge advantage to a salesman, when they have to push a buyer into making a rash decision, and also in how you said, in giving customers time to think it over. I think it all depends on the product that you’re selling. If you are selling something that you truly believe in, you will give the customer time. But if you’re not exactly sold on the quality of your product, you would most likely want to rush people into making a quick, uneducated decision.