Rewriting the clichés and stereotypes in the world of Sales

9 Used Car Sales Gimmicks That Need To Go Away

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!

Traits to Succeed in Customer Success

John Ciannello September 5th, 2021

When I first heard the phrase “customer success,” I thought it was just a fancy, new-age term to replace the boring and tired “customer service” but I quickly learned that this is not the case.

What is Customer Success?

Customer success is so much more than responding to problems and just doing the bare minimum. Effective customer success representatives and teams have a genuine focus on providing the greatest possible experience for their customers and that’s what sets them apart.

Key Characteristics

Proactivity

It is more than safe to say that being proactive is far more beneficial than a reactive approach to your career. When it comes to customer success, proactivity improves the experience for the customer, but also the company. If you’re coming up with solutions for problems that have yet to occur, then there is no need to scramble around trying to fix things when they do arise.

Proactive people not only get the job done, but they get it done well, really well. If you need proof, just think about the last time you had an issue with your phone, computer, or something along those lines, and you had to get in touch with the company. Did they have a FAQ page prepared? Did they have a chatbot on their website? If you talked to someone on the phone, did they seem to be familiar with your problem? If you answered yes, then you dealt with a proactive customer success representative, and they most likely did an excellent job!

Poise

A great customer success representative or team must be poised and ready for any situation that comes across their desk.

People want reassurance. That statement can be applied to a ton of different aspects in life, but it especially applies to a company’s customers. Someone who is poised and prepared to handle any problem that a customer presents is going to do well in the customer success field. It is best to be cool, calm, and composed when dealing with customers. Doing this gives the customer the impression that their dilemma is being taken seriously, and is being handled by a qualified professional.

Oftentimes, football coaches will teach their quarterbacks that they need to be poised in the pocket. So, if you can handle customer problems the way Tom Brady handles NFL defenses, you’ll be on your way to the customer success hall of fame in no time!

Humility

It’s okay to not know all of the answers, and sometimes we forget that. While a customer might appreciate the feeling that all of their problems are easily remedied, it’s not always that simple. It can be equally comforting to hear “I’m not very familiar with this problem, but I can assure you that my colleagues and myself are doing everything we can to provide you with a solution.”

This approach makes sure you don’t make promises you can’t keep, as well as avoiding a source of disappointment for the customer. Sometimes a reminder that we’re only human is much needed, for both the customer and the customer success rep/team.

Bottom line, if you want to be successful in customer success, go the extra mile. Take that extra step, put yourself in the position of the customer, and most importantly, be genuine, It will take you to the places you want to go!