Posted on September 21, 2009 - by Alex

The Craft of Selling

We often look to our trusted advisors to help us make the right decisions—never thinking for a moment that we’re dealing with salespeople. That’s because the best salespeople understand: selling is counsel. They are facilitators of exchange. No other area of work has taught me more than the craft of selling.

Discipline of Service

‘Cocky’, ‘overbearing’, and ‘inconsiderate’ are all terms individuals associate with salespeople—which is unfortunate, because they describe the opposite of what a sales professional is, and defame an otherwise honorable vocation.  The most successful salespeople are service-oriented, and are regarded as advisors by their clientele. Consequently, their primary source of business comes from referrals—which is hard to do if you’re the stereotypical, “pushy” salesperson.

Applied Psychology

The old adage tells us, “customers love to buy, but hate to be sold.” Professional salespeople must therefore understand what makes people tick. They master the skill of reading body language, they are students of human emotion, and finally, they are disciplined in listening carefully, and hearing more than the mere surface meaning of words.

Superior Elocution

When was the last time you watched a great interview? Learning the craft of selling involves high-level proficiency in articulating questions—from general to specific, all while building trust with the interviewee. Great interviewers get their subjects talking about what matters to them, within the parameters they set. Being well-understood and having superior delivery is a principal element of selling.

Why

Unless you can make all the things you need in life, you’ll need to exchange goods, services, or ideas with other earthlings. This is central to the pursuit of our separate interests. Expertise in the craft of selling is advantageous, then, to either side of the exchange, because it informs negotiation. Even if you’re just promoting an idea—or persuading a friend to see things from your perspective, selling competency reinforces the most basic skill sets: discourse and verbal/nonverbal communication.

Final Thoughts

The craft of selling is perhaps older than war—and much more effective.  It is important that you grasp that selling doesn’t mean beguiling a person. There is no virtue to subjugating or coercing a decision out of someone. Rather, the Sales Profession is about serving people—about consultation. It is a universally applicable set of skills that can help anyone promote their work and serve mankind.