29.05.2019

Selling still carries a stigma. Without thinking further, people very easily express that they do not like selling and start explaining how they themselves never could be engaged in selling. To me, this seems strange and sometimes even insulting, as I am totally convinced of selling having a great impact on everybody’s lives.

Quite recently, I was travelling with a teacher colleague who told me that she has never been in touch with selling and that she does not like the whole concept of selling at all. Being a very competent person in her field of expertise, she however was always convincing people of something that she thought is of value to them.

During our trip, it also became very clear that the people we were meeting did not originally realize how the thing she was talking about could improve the results they were aiming at. We were demonstrating something, which could be of great value to them and could improve their lives. However – according to her, she was not selling and she never had been selling.

Another example is my dear daughter who thinks that she is as far from selling as possible. She is studying dentistry and is constantly telling everybody what a difference it makes to brush and floss your teeth regularly. She is convinced that people around her do not understand how much it would improve the quality of their lives if they were taking care of their teeth properly. Also in monetary terms, taking care of your teeth is rewarding. She knows about the added value available and is talking about it to her patients and to all the people around her. My daughter does not like selling and thinks that it is nothing for her.

They could be co-creating value together.

There are many other people in different professions everyday wanting to influence the people around them. They might be doing that because they want to reach an aim, which is important to them. However, very often they have the aim of improving other people’s lives, as based on their knowledge and experience, they know that they could provide valuable information and concepts to people around them. They and the people next to them could be co-creating value together.

In the above-mentioned cases, I proposed a question to the two ladies: isn’t it that you are developing and informing people of something you know that they could be benefiting from? Isn’t it that the information you give is based on knowledge about the needs and expectations of the people you are dealing with?

If this is the case, then you are selling and you could be using selling skills to reach better results. I like quoting Daniel Pink very much. According to him, everybody is selling in his or her profession and in very ordinary everyday situations.

Selling is about interaction and about understanding the customer needs in a very deep-going way. It is about co-creating value together.

We start our day with the children in the morning, discussing about the proper outfit for the day, continue negotiating about dinner options and about who is going to cook. With the colleagues at work, we talk about who is doing what and in which way. Selling skills are needed, all the time and by everybody.

Once again, what is selling? Selling is about interaction, it is an art leading to an end desirable by both the seller and the buyer. It is about understanding the customer needs in a very profound way and informing and offering something that customers themselves might yet not be aware of. It is about co-creating value together so that both the seller and buyer reach their aims. It is about demonstrating better possibilities to reach an aim. It all starts from the needs of the customer and goes on to the seller for finding solutions.

Quite naturally, it is important that the seller is able to make profit but at the same time, it is equally important that the deal will yield a win-win situation to both parties.

Selling belongs to everybody; it is needed in every profession! At the end, we are all selling and profiting from it!