Become a salesman — The one skill you need in 2024 (2)

A good salesman is ADAPTABLE. Change is the only constant in the universe. Our environment is constantly in flux. Knowledge is becoming obsolete at almost the same pace as it is emerging. What was new last year is already being overtaken by newer, superior information today. Those who refuse to embrace change can be likened to people queuing for a ticket at a train station when all the trains have departed. Whatever you do this year, stay abreast of information in your field of endeavour. You cannot know too much, but you can know too little. Adaptability makes you question the status quo and awakens your mind to new ideas and possibilities. It is one of the qualities that make it possible for great people to go against the norm when the norm is no longer relevant to or sufficient for the desired destination. Adaptable people don’t fear change. Rather, they are willing to orchestrate it if need be. Adaptability goes hand in hand with innovation and resourcefulness. It entails the willingness to learn new skills where necessary and on a continuous basis. It thrives by collecting and collating data on status quo and using the data as feedback to project into the future to evolve new strategies. Where the average person throws tantrums when confronted with change, the adaptable person uses the change to their advantage.

To connect appropriately with the hearts of people and overcome every resistance, LOVE, genuinely expressed, is arguably the world’s most potent weapon. Love is a deep-seated concern for another person that tries to put oneself in the shoes of that person. In a seminar I facilitated a few years ago, I asked participants what they thought was the first law of business success. Everyone mentioned different things, ranging from integrity, honesty, capital appreciation, high profits, dignity, etc. They were shell-shocked when I told them that none of their answers constituted a good enough reason for staying or succeeding significantly in business. I proceeded to let them know that love is the greatest and most noble reason for doing anything whatsoever or venturing into any business.

People don’t just buy from you just because you have something to sell or because you ask them to. This is why it is possible to have a product or service in the market that even your family members are not willing to buy unless they see the need for it. Before you roll out any product, service, or value proposition in the service of people, make sure that you love them enough to care about knowing their heartfelt needs. You succeed or fail with people, not because of the quantum of your possessions or actions, but by the emotions that those things evoke in them. Why is this so important? Human beings are constantly teleguided by their emotions in their quest to get a solution to one problem or the other that they may have.

Whatever you are selling, your success begins when you recognize that every decision to buy ANYTHING is first taken at the emotional level before it translates to an economic decision. When it comes to buying, logic hardly matters. The money follows the heart. People can tell when you care enough to help them solve a problem with your value proposition as opposed to when you are simply trying to dump something on them because you are aiming at meeting a target. People, not money, are the reason for business. All the money you are looking for is in the hands of people that you are yet to connect with. Don’t try selling a product to anyone whose needs you have not first ascertained. People don’t usually buy what they are not convinced that they need, no matter how cheap it is. I heard the story of a woman who went with her husband to a car dealership. As they were about to enter the premises, he told his wife categorically that they were only there to window-shop, not to buy anything, so she should not have any fancy ideas about driving out of there with a car or a commitment to buy one. On getting inside, they were warmly welcomed by a very amiable salesman. Upon hearing the man’s name, the salesman said, “Oh, how nice to get to meet you in person, Mr. XYZ, I have read a lot about your great, inspiring work as Chairman of the National Council on Autism. I have a son who is autistic.” According to the narration by the woman, her husband’s face lit up as the salesman ushered them into an office where he and her husband spoke for close to thirty minutes, not about cars, but about autism and the emerging possibilities in therapy. As they got up to leave, the salesman walked them to the door, and her husband leaned over and whispered to her, “Honey, I believe we can get that truck we have always wanted from here”! What flipped the switch even when there was no discussion about buying a car? A heart connection. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!

This year, make sure you do not spend considerable time doing anything that does not engage your passion. This is because your passion is what sustains your motivation. Life is too short to allow drudgery to cut yours even shorter. Amid chokehold competition for attention and survival in today’s harsh economy, ENTHUSIASM will draw the line between those who will succeed and those who will not. Be bold and daring. Whatever your hand finds to do, the Holy Bible counsels, do it with all your might. Ramp up your confidence level. There is no greater confidence booster than enthusiasm. An enthusiastic person is like someone on a permanent high, intoxicated by an invisible wine whose fountain is lodged in him. We all find it easier to trust those who can confidently speak about their value proposition than those who are intimidated by our enquiries. Enthusiasm is one of the easiest ways to build trust. Know your worth and celebrate it. Speak confidently about any capacity that you have, but do not exaggerate your capability. Confidence is not synonymous with deception.

If you want to go far in life’s marketplace, be SINCERE. When you are wrong or proven wrong, be willing to admit it. Admitting an error does not make you stupid. Rather, it earns you the respect of others. If someone asks you a question that you don’t have an answer to, don’t fake it. Admit your ignorance so that you can be educated. I have never seen anyone who looked more ridiculous than the man who is corrected on a matter, and who, because he wants to save face in the presence of people continues to hold on to his warped argument, even when everyone around him knows that he is wrong! That is foolhardiness. Recognize your humanity and its limitations. Be confident about your claims but be sincere about them. People can see when you are transparent and honest with them, and they will respect you for it. Sincerity will buy you significant mileage in people’s estimation. … continued