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A Good Seller is a Good Teacher #506
Have you ever had a difficult customer that tested your patience? You want to do a good job, but it seems that all the prospect wants to do is to make it harder on themselves. Sure you want to help, but they don’t want to be helped. And now you can’t help but wonder why are they even talking to you. You know something is there, you think you think you can teach them a few things that would be good for their business. You might even be able to address their issues. But they’re not the good student. There is a part of you that doesn’t want to let it go and in the words of the Clash, you wonder “Should I stay or should I go now?” What does it mean to be a good teacher, that’s the topic for today.
Today’s Chapter: Sell By Not Selling
A good seller sets aside concerns about making commissions.
They are not intent on closing.
Focused on helping the buyer
they keep an open mind.
What is a good seller?
The teacher of a bad buyer.
What is a bad buyer?
A good seller’s job.
If the seller is not respected
And the buyer is not attended to
confusion will arise
no matter how clever the seller.
The master seller takes care of all buyers
And abandons no one.
Today’s Story
Lee’s company had quality issues and started shopping for a solution that would raise product standards. Chris was excited to have the opportunity but as the sale progressed Chris found Lee to be a rude and difficult buyer.
Chris shared with Pat, “They don’t respect me, our company, or our products. They’re very skeptical and have wasted a lot of my time and I’m concerned I’ll never see any business from them.”
Head nodding Pat responded, “I know how you feel. I once had to deal with a rude and difficult prospect. But I hung in there and once I recognized their issues and the negative experience they’ve had with other vendors, I understood their behavior. They had been burned and didn’t want that to happen again.
Lee may not be a good fit for us. That’s your call. But I urge patience. Try to help and teach them about our solutions. Don’t give up until they give up. Sales is a long game.”
Take Action Quote
“If you miss the present moment, you miss your appointment with life.”– Thich Nhat Hanh
It’s easy in sales to have shiny object syndrome and only get excited about the new deals in your pipeline. It’s difficult working with difficult customers but like they say if it was easy anybody could do it. As a seller, teaching is your core competency. Be mindful when qualifying, discovering, presenting, and closing. A good teacher is like water that when poured into a vessel molds to whatever shape it is. The same is true of master sellers.
How to Connect with Pat Helmers at Sales Babble
Sales Babble shares selling secrets for non-sellers. Masterful selling is understanding what buyers want, discerning if you can help, showing what you have, and helping them to make a decision that is good for their business and yours. See https://salesbabble.com
I’ve interviewed 100s of sales experts and discussed all things sales: prospecting, qualifying, value propositions, presentations, demos, closing, generating referrals, earning references, upselling, marketing, lead generation, copywriting, and most importantly the right selling mindset. Stop fearing sales and embrace it.
This is a production of Habanero Media https://habaneromedia.net
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