Successful Sales People are Slick.

Wrong. It seems this series of blog entries should be titled: shattering the myths of selling.

Do your remember Herb from WKRP. Herb was the sales representative for the radio station WKPR. He would take you lunch, try to get you drunk, tell you what you wanted to hear, get you to sign the order and never returned your call.

Or Barney on How I Met Your Mother. He is a great dresser, very articulate, and doesn’t let the truth stand in the way of a good story.

I am sure you could make your own list of people who you like to listen to and socialize with but you would never buy from them.

Being a slick sales representative is not the same as being good at sales and helping your clients achieve their goals and create success, however they define it.

Successful sales people are great problem solvers. When you are a problem solver you need to create trust to ask the hard questions, come across as trustworthy, do what you say you will do and treat your prospect the way they want to be treated.

For years I thought I had to be outgoing, party animal to be successful in sales. The successful sales representatives I knew closed deals over golf, drinks in a bar or dinner in a fancy restaurant. All of those are viable activities if you enjoy those activities. But the bottom line is that you are there to help people and it is hard to help someone when you are drunk.

The world has changed and people have different expectations of their trusted advisors. They want to know you have their best interest at heart.

I have three rules when I do business with someone and if I am asked to violate any of these values I will not do business with that individual. Those three values are honesty, integrity and common sense. I want to be treated (from an ethical perspective) that way by people I do business with.

Sounds a lot like The Golden Rule. I believe and practice it 110%, especially when it comes to values, ethics, honesty and consideration. However, when it comes to interpersonal communication, it can very well backfire. The Golden Rule states: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Basically translated, that says to treat others the way you would like to be treated, which of course isn’t always the case.
An addition to the Golden Rule is The Platinum Rule: “Treat others the way they want to be treated.” The focus of relationships shifts from “this is what I want, so I’ll give everyone the same thing” to “let me first understand what they want and then I’ll give it to them.”
The goal of The Platinum Rule is personal chemistry and productive relationships that leads to more sales. You don’t have to change your personality. You simply have to understand what drives people and recognize your options for dealing with them. The Platinum Rule is understanding what a person’s dominant personality style is and treating him/her appropriately.

Does that sound like being a slick sales representative? I don’t think so.

It reminds me of the old saying “when in Rome do as the Romans do.” When we are in Rome we do what the Romans do. We eat the food they eat, we visit the places they visit, and we try very hard not to violate their cultural norms.

Why can’t we do this when we are with others? They have their own places they like to visit and food they like to eat. They have a clear idea of how they want to be treated. The Platinum Rule will teach you how to do that. When in Rome you will be able to treat the Romans the way they want to be treated.

It doesn’t take a slick sales representative to treat others the way they want to be treated. It takes a trusted advisor to do that.

To Your Success,

Ron Finklestein
330-990-0788
info@yourbusinesscoach.net