ACTUALLY WORKING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN LOOKING AS THOUGH IT WILL ACTUALLY WORK

"Beauty is less important than quality."

Eugene Ormandy, 20th century Hungarian born violinist/conductor

In some instances, maybe not, but I wouldn't bank on it when creating product you want to sell.

From cars to computers, the product landscape is littered with what were initially considered attractive products whose quality ultimately proved lacking.

Looks count, just not for everything.

SELLING ATTITUDE

"Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman - not the attitude of the prospect."

W. Clement Stone, 20th century author/motivational speaker

The attitude of each can affect the attitude of the other, however, whose attitude do you think will most determine whether or not there will be a sale?

Mr. Stone got it right.

WE ARE ALL SALESPEOPLE

"You can close more business in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years trying to get people interested in you."

Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American writer.

This isn't just good advice for those selling goods and services.

It's for us all.

Regardless of what we do we all must sell. 

Our ideas, suggestions, thinking, in other words, us.

BEWARE PRE JUDGEMENT

"Always have your hook baited in the pool you least think there will be a fish."

Ovid (BC 43-AD 18) Roman poet.

This reminds me how often the business I thought my company would win didn't happen, while we frequently got that I was fairly certain we wouldn't.

I guess the moral is, if you're going to fish be ready to catch.

THE KEY TO SALES SUCCESS

"One joy scatters a hundred grieves."

Chinese proverb

Any real salesperson knows this.

Sales is a numbers game and for most sales attempts most of the time, making a sale is the least likely outcome.

Don't focus on the rejections; that's just part of the job.

Celebrate the wins!

REALITY OR PERCEPTION OF REALITY?

"It all depends on how we look at things, and not how they are in themselves."

Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) Swiss psychologist/psychiatrist

This raises an interesting question, one obviously not limited to business.

Is "reality", whatever that is, more important than perception of reality?

There is only one reality but many perceptions of what it is.

I'll go with perception.

I am far more effective as a marketer when I address consumer perception of reality than I will ever be attempting to change what they perceive to be true.

What do you think?

THE SALESPERSON'S CREED

"Buying is a profound pleasure."

Simone de Beauvoir

20th century French novelist/essayist

After completing a sale, hearing this from the buyer should be the goal of everyone who calls themselves a salesperson.  

By the way, everyone is a salesperson for something.

Everyone!

All Things To All (No) People

"A friend to everybody and nobody is the same thing."

Spanish proverb

Does your company attempt to sell to everyone?

Attempting is fine but it won't happen and in the end could result in lower sales.

I Will Make You Happy!

"Buying is a profound pleasure."

Simone de Beauvoir

20th century French novelist

This should be the foundation of every salesperson's approach to their occupation.

I Hope You (Yawn) Buy My Product

"None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm."

Henry David Thoreau

19th century American naturalist/philosopher

As is true of many of the Business Wisdom quotes, this was intended for individuals, not companies.

But it applies don't you think?

At the heart of every business is a customer and if you can't be enthusiastic about what you want to sell them, how can you expect them to be?

The Unseen Prejudice

"All the people like us are WE, and everyone else is THEY."

Rudyard Kipling

19th/20th century British writer

You may feel this way even though you profess otherwise, possibly without even knowing you do.

If so and your job is marketing or sales . . .

I Assure You . . .

"The very act of believing creates strengths of its own."

Unknown

But how do we really know what we really believe versus what we think or say we believe?

The answer to that is important when it comes to the difference between our convictions and our willingness to convince others of things we ourselves do not believe.

Let me be the first to admit, I'm not always sure which is which.

Are you?

Customer Knowledge: The Key to Sales

"The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well, the product or service fits him and sells itself."

Peter Drucker
20th century American business author/consultant/teacher

I can't believe I'm going to edit Mr. Drucker, however . . .

If you really do know and understand your customer, you will do a much better job creating and effectively marketing products for and to him/her than you will if you don't.

For Sale: What've You Got?

"Everyone lives by selling something."

Robert Louis Stevenson

This is so true.

Most sales people get this but way too many accountants, finance, product development and even some marketers, do not.

Do you know what you sell?

Here's a hint.

It's not your company's product or service.

It's Not What You Earn But How Much You Keep

"Revenue is vanity . . . margin is sanity . . . cash is king."

Unknown

There's an old sales joke about "losing a dollar on every item we sell, but making it up in increased volume."

I would imagine some CFO's reading this blog are not laughing at this, finding it all too common in their organizations.

They're right to be concerned.

Too much emphasis is placed on how much is sold, too little on how much is earned, and to make matters worse, many managers don't understand the difference between the two.

Do you?

Sales and Profit: Chicken or the Egg?

"Our inventions mirror our secret wishes."

Charles H. Duell
Late 19th Century Commissionaire US Patent Office

Too many business people focus on the sales and profit they hope will come from innovation and invention.

If those are their "secret wishes" they are missing the point.

Sales and profit are the result of successful innovation and invention. Invent and innovate product that fulfills the secret wishes of others and sales and profit will follow.

What are your secret wishes?

Marketing: Playing the Company Tambourine

"Poets and painters are outside the class system, or rather they constitute a special class of their own, like circus people and gypsies."

Gerald Brenan
20th century British writer

And within business I will add marketers, with apologies to circus people and gypsies if any reading this should be offended by the association.

On our best, most analytical day, we marketers are viewed by "hard science" business types as (barely) necessary evil disruptors of cash flow, returning little value to the business.

True?

What Are You Selling?

"Everyone lives by selling something."

R L Stevenson
19th century Scottish novelist

Have you ever said you are not a salesperson, glad you are not a salesperson and/or criticized, berated, made fun of salespeople?

No matter what you do for a living, you sell. Whether it be your ideas, proposals, concepts, suggestions, you have to sell them to someone even when you are the one giving orders.

And when you look for a job, guess what. You are absolutely selling . . . you.

Now who's the salesperson?

Selling: As Simple As 1, 2, 3

"There is more similarity in the marketing challenge of selling a precious painting by Degas and a frosted mug of root beer than you ever thought possible."

A. Alfred Taubman
American Real Estate Developer, Philanthropist and Industrialist

1. Identify your customer.
2. Decide what you want to tell them about what you want them to buy.
   
3. Tell them.

Products, ideas, even people. They all must be sold and these three steps are what must be done.

How's your sales effort?