Sales is something that we have all experienced at some point in our lives, whether we realized it or not. It may have been through a traditional sales meeting such as purchasing a smartphone, a car, or even a pair of clothes or shoes. A selling experience may also happen through non-traditional sales, such as choosing what college to attend, listening to a teacher in class, or watching influencers online. Either way, we have all been sold to at some point in our lives.
The best salespeople are the ones who take the time to ask questions and dig deeper to find out a what a customer needs and wants. Most people, however, do not think about salespeople this way. Most people see salespeople as pushy, chatty, and dressed in suits only caring about the bottom line. Good salespeople, however, are nothing like this. They are friendly, caring, and great listeners. They want to figure out your needs and to know if the product or service they offer is right for you.
My parents own a tree service, and my mom has done a lot of different things over the years, including selling Pampered Chef and children’s books. Because of this, I have seen sales take place in many different ways. My dad, though he probably would not consider himself a true salesman, does all the sales for the business. He meets with clients, talks to them, and gives them a price for their job. He has to make sure he understand the needs of his customers and present a way to fulfil those needs by completing the job. My mom sold Pampered Chef for many years, and, similar to my dad, she had to listen to people and understand what they were looking for, rather than shoving products at them and asking them to make a purchase.
My parents are both very good at sales and have been successful, and a lot of their sales now are due to word-of-mouth because they have proven themselves to be honest, caring, and trustworthy people that customers can count on.
taylorjt23 
Bondre24 
wheelerne24
That is such a cool story! Does your mom still sell Pampered Chef now? I assume with the rise of online websites and purchasing, that sales numbers for consumer products like that would have gone down. I’m sure your parents do a great job!
I agree that getting to know the customer is the most important part of sales. In fact, how can you sell someone anything if you don’t know what they’re interested in? If your dad can identify that a prospective customer only wants to make their backyard prettier, he can easily offer to remove the stumps and dispose of the whole tree, instead of simply making firewood.