That’s because everybody sells – Yes, even you.
Are you the type of person who, when you hear the word “sales,” want to run and hide? You’re not alone! We don’t associate “selling” with positive experiences. In movies and TV shows salespeople are portrayed as dishonest, aggressive, and terrible listeners. Honestly, who would ever want to have a job where they have to act like this guy:
*If you haven’t seen the movie Matilda, I highly recommend it as a guide for what NOT to do as a salesperson
As a result, when people avoid being “salesy” they may be missing out on behaviors that will help them be a success. Just recently, my leader shared some feedback with me after a presentation with some of our key internal stakeholders; “I really appreciate not only how you present information to our clients, but how you gain commitment and really sell them on the ideas and actions for which you need their support.” In other words, I acted like a salesperson! I believe (and so do many CEOs, according to this LinkedIn Study), that developing strong sales skills can set you up for lifelong success. Let’s talk about why.
Our beliefs about salespeople are wrong.
Earlier we talked about what comes to mind when we hear the word “sales.” This is tied directly to what we believe about sales, VS the reality of what it means to be a great salesperson. Here’s a comparison chart to show you what I mean:
As you read through the column on the right, does anything resonate with what you have to do? Let’s try replacing the word “salespeople” with “I” and the word “client” with “stakeholders.”
| Reality (Fact) |
| I want to drive value and solve problems for my stakeholders |
| I focus on the right time and solution for my stakeholders |
| I ask questions to help me understand what my stakeholder needs |
| I rely on process to drive consistent results for my stakeholders |
See what I did there? No matter our field – Marketing, Finance, Management, HR, or Operations – we all are accountable to working with leaders, colleagues, and internal teams to drive results.
Salespeople don’t sell products – they sell change
Whether you sell cars or IT solutions, you are asking your customer to make a change when they buy something. This is because to be able to influence someone making a change, we need to understand how we make decisions. To help explain this, we’ve mapped out the decision-making process below:
These three steps involve someone identifying a need, becoming emotionally attached to resolving it, and then making a change. Think about when you give feedback to team members, or tell your spouse what you want to eat for dinner; people’s willingness to take your suggestions depends on where they are in their decision-making process. So why does this matter? By understanding people’s interests and level of attachment to solutions, you can better drive your desired outcomes.
Great Salespeople Ask Great Questions
Many of us already know that the secret to influencing others is asking people great questions. However, this conflicts with our belief about salespeople, which is that they say the perfect thing. The truth is somewhere in the middle! We resonate with what salespeople say to us because they focus on what is important to us. How do they know what that is? They’ve asked a lot of great questions up front. This is crucial advice for all of us: in order to be able to effectively advocate for our opinions, requests, and ideas, we must connect our point of view directly to what’s important to our audience. Therefore, we have to ask our stakeholders a lot of questions to get to know them better.
Ask Questions to Guide the Decision-Making Process
If you’re struggling with what questions to ask, go back to our adult decision-making model: Intellectual Interest, Emotional Attachment, Logical Outcomes. Ask questions that uncover the basic interest, emotional drivers, and possible outcomes for your stakeholder. Below are a few examples to help you get started.
Intellectual Interest – Fact-based questions:
- What is important to you about ____?
- Who else should be working with you on ____?
- Where are the areas we should most focus on for ____?
Emotional Attachment – Time-based questions:
- How long has ___ been important to you?
- What outcomes or improvements do you expect to see from ____?
- What happens if you don’t move forward with solving ____?
Logical Outcomes – Money- or Resource-based questions:
- How do you plan to resolve ____?
- What resources or support do you have for ____?
- Who else is invested in you fixing ____?
By uncovering information from each of these steps, you will be able to position recommendations and suggestions with ease.
So the next time someone asks you if you think you could be in sales someday, I hope you’ll tell them, “I already am! I sell every day!” Happy selling, everyone!
