Rewriting the clichés and stereotypes in the world of Sales

When you hear “salesman” does your mind conjure up an image similar to the one above? A sleazy, lying, and greasy used car salesman. If so, I’d like you to do everything you can to erase that idea from your mind. Then read this post, and afterwards reassess what you think a salesman really is.

Forget the Used Car Salesman

I’m not trying to convince you that used car salesmen aren’t sleazy or that they don’t lie. But are they all bad? No. Are they all good? No. My goal is to convince you that used car dealerships aren’t the epitome of sales.

What is Sales?

In its most basic form, sales is offering something of value to solve a problem and then receiving something else of value in return. I put it simply because if we’re going to tear down that sleazy image it’s important to break this down from a fundamental standpoint.

For instance, let’s say I have an idea that I know will make my mother happy and I decide to share that idea with her. Then in exchange, I get to see her smile. In a sort of silly way, I made a sale.

This may seem like a ridiculous analogy, but it makes perfect sense. If you take away all of the negative connotations associated with sales, that situation was a great example of someone “selling” something.

Sales can be door-to-door pitches, cold calls, customer follow-ups, cold emails, data analysis, etc.

The world of sales has such a wide range of roles and is prevalent in nearly every industry. From restaurants to tech startups, every company needs an effective sales strategy.

Success in Sales

Any successful company that you see or hear of, has an effective sales team or strategy.

These teams have the hard and soft skills it takes to effectively reach a target demographic and offer them a product or service that solves a problem for that demographic.

Skills for Sales

• Emotional intelligence
• Knowledge of tech tools (Hunter, LinkedIn, Salesforce, etc.)
• Communication
• Determination
• Analytical knowledge

Those are just a few of the skills that I’ve seen from the most successful people in sales roles.

Let’s head back to the basics for a minute.

When I was playing high school football, every year we did a fundraiser to cover costs for the season. Often, we went door-to-door and sold coupon books. Now, there was absolutely a financial incentive for people to buy these books but that actually wasn’t the best way to sell those books.

Here’s a blurb about how I sold them door-to-door:

“Hey, my name’s John Ciannello, I play quarterback for the football team, and these two guys are a couple of freshmen in my group. We’re doing a fundraiser to support our football program and cover costs for the season. We have these coupon books, and they’re really a great way to save money. By using just one or two of the coupons here you can make your money back in one trip to Target! The money we raise means a lot to the guys on the team and the community.”

That was the most effective way to sell those coupon books as well as a

perfect example of a standard sales pitch. The key takeaway though, is that it wasn’t some kind of scam pitch. It was a genuine and emotionally intelligent interaction that positively impacted everyone involved.

Have You Changed Your Mind Yet?

Sales is so much more than sleazy used car salesmen. It’s about personal connection and emotional intelligence. Networking and problem-solving. Ultimately, sales is what you make of it, and that’s a beautiful thing.

What do you think of sales now? Has what I presented changed your view on the role? I’d love to hear your feedback, so don’t hesitate to reach out!