This week we talked about the importance of different values in the sales process. We talked about honesty, directness, transparency, and authenticity and I think these are the best way to sell. The only major selling experience I have is my working the Admissions Office and I have found these to be important values in my work.
Honesty is something people often don’t expect from people who work in an office for the college. I have often have parents come in and try to be very sly in the way they ask me questions because they think that I am going to try to pull the wool over their eyes. I have found that the more honest with I am people about the bad along with the good, the more convinced they are.
Directness is also something that I believe is key to the selling process because it is not what people expect. When I work with families in the office and give them a straight answer, I find they are often surprised and impressed. It creates a trust between the two of us, and open the door for most questions.
Transparency is very interconnected with both directness and honesty, and definitely an important value when it comes to sales in my experience. When you are selling to parents and students who know nothing about the college, they are scared about all of the things they don’t know. Whether these things be good or bad, people want an accurate picture of what is coming for them. Be open with people about even the small details I have found to be a good way to keep the sale alive when they are unsure.
Authenticity is important when selling because people are on high alert for being lied to when they have money on the line. I know I have to assure families I am working with in the office that I am telling them the truth on what it is like to be student here, and not just trying to get them to part with their money.
All of these values are ones I have found to be important in my selling experience, and I hope to use in the future.
BoweryJE22
Great post! While we don’t typically think of sales as a profession engendering honesty, directness, and transparency, I agree that those three characteristics are extremely helpful in closing a deal. It’s how we’d like to be sold, I’m sure, so it only follows that we’d take the same approach when we’re the ones doing the selling.