Sales feels crappy. We don’t need to do it. We don’t have to push something on someone. We don’t have to convince anyone of anything. Our role in society is to offer something of value to others. We make the thing, we tell people the truth about it. The truth is that it’s valuable.
That communication means listening to our customer’s needs and explaining the value.
I talk to so many people who think they need to get some pizazz going.
The shoes you don’t want
A stranger walks up to you on the street and tells you he wants you to buy a pair of shoes. They have the cast of Three’s Company printed on the side of them. They’re size 4. He spent years painting the cast of Three’s Company over and over until he got it really accurate! Jack’s even a little bit bigger because it represents how he sees the hierarchy of the characters!
Let’s get into the good stuff. These shoes will never wear out, stain or be uncomfortable. They’re made with premium materials. They are autographed by the cast of Three’s Company too! They are the very best quality shoes.
This guy is excited and charming and has a bunch of great jokes.
$200 for the pair… right now… cash only.
No? Okay. They play the theme song. He’ll throw in a free bunch of bananas. The soles have glitter. The laces tie themselves.
It doesn’t matter how good of a salesman this dude is, you don’t want the freakin’ shoes.
If the dude listened to you, “I wear size ten shoes, I don’t like TV shows, I don’t want my shoes to play songs, I have plantar fasciitis, I don’t have cash.” then he can respond “The song is easy to disable, venmo’s cool, I have plantar too and these are the most comfortable shoes I’ve worn, I can easily remove the cast picture from the shoe’s surface. You’ll get a pair of shoes that will last you a lifetime.”
We need to listen and respond, not try to push nonsense that we care about.