Selling is dead. Long live buying.

Salespeople have a terrible reputation, albeit undeserved. The fact is, without salespeople, there would be no business, no customers and no profit. The problem lies with bad sales people. After all, sales is one of those professions where it is widely believed that "either you have it, or you don't". "It" being the gift of gab, or something like that. If you can sling the bullshit, you can be a salesperson. No training required. All you need is product knowledge. Right?

Wrong. This is why the profession suffers the slings and arrows of customers everywhere. Too many bad sales people trying everything they can to make you buy. Manipulation, feature poker, sometimes even lying. (Buy a car lately?)Unfortunately, these types make up the majority of salespeople.

So, what does it take to be a good sales professional? First and foremost, sales excellence requires training and a solid process. Contrary to popular belief, product knowledge isn't as important as people knowledge. Understanding the needs, desires and pain of the customer will allow a good salesperson to determine if there is a match. If there is a match, the customer will buy. After all, they WANT to buy. Salespeople need to let them buy.

The best salespeople decline the sale when there isn't a bona-fide match - a "win-win" situation. As customers become more sophisticated the old tricks simply don't work anymore. What works is an ethical, honest approach that stresses mutual understanding and a commitment to the customer. If you do it right, you'll overcome the slings and arrows and make a customer for life.

And there's nothing wrong with that.