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Honesty And Integrity Must Be Practiced In Sales

Successful sales people are at peace with themselves and with their customers. The peace they feel comes from their belief in their products and services and the honest and straightforward approach they have taken with their customers. When you feel right it is much easier to act right and when you act right, you do right. The world is full of salespeople who don’t believe in their products and are willing to say whatever it takes to make the sale. They willingly accept money based on hollow promises, knowing in their hearts that the product is incapable of doing what it was purchased to do. Others will say and do those things that “hook” the buyer, eliminating other options in order to deliberately lock buyers into their product with total disregard for the implications that will ultimately come to plaque the customer. It almost seems as though they live by the creed, “all is fair, as long as you make the sale”.

Selling is not a short-term proposition. Successful salespeople are always thinking long-term. Short-term relationships are built on lies and deception while lasting sales relationships are anchored firmly on a foundation of honesty and trust. Of course, there are salespeople who have enjoyed phenomenal success through deceptive practices. However, their success is not lasting nor is it satisfying. Many will eventually be discovered and others will leave sales and move on to other careers. In both cases, their success and careers are hollow, void of personal satisfaction, having left a trail of unfulfilled promises and expectations.

If you want to find the true joy and success that can be experienced in a sales career, you must not only be honest with yourself but with your customers as well. There are no degrees of honesty, either you are honest or you aren’t. In the classic tale written by Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he wrote a chapter titled “You Can’t Pray A Lie”. Huck was troubled with his life, the way he was living and the things he had done. He finally decided to seek peace for his aching soul. Here are Huck’s words as written by Mark Twain:

“It made me shiver. And I about made up my mind to pray and see if I couldn't try to quit being the kind of a boy I was and be better. So I kneeled down. But the words wouldn't come. Why wouldn't they? It warn't no use to try and hide it from Him. Nor from ME, neither. I knowed very well why they wouldn't come. It was because my heart warn't right; it was because I warn't square; it was because I was playing double. I was letting ON to give up sin, but away inside of me I was holding on to the biggest one of all. I was trying to make my mouth SAY I would do the right thing and the clean thing and go and write to that [slave's] owner and tell where he was; but deep down in me I knowed it was a lie, and He knowed it. You can't pray a lie — I found that out.”

As salespeople, we represent our employers, our industry, our profession, our friends, our families and ourselves. Just as Doctors subscribe to the Hippocratic Oath, swearing to practice medicine ethically, so must salespeople for the sake of all those people who’s lives they influence, be honest, forthright and ethical in all of their practices. You will find internal peace and satisfaction while at the same time, rebuilding the image of the greatest profession in the world.

There Is No Magic Bullet Or Secret Formula To Increasing Sales

Have you ever asked yourself the question, “Why do other salespeople sell more than I do?” There may be many reasons, but one of them is not because they have found a magic bullet or secret formula. However, if they are selling more than you, there is definitely a reason. I wish I could tell you that sales superstars know something that you don’t, or have discovered a sales secret known only to a few, but that isn’t the case. The plain and simple truth is this: if you did what they do, you would have the same results. And, what they do is not a secret, you can do it too.

I recently sat in on two sales presentations. I love to subject myself to salespeople to critique them and to stay in touch with the current level of performance in the sales profession. The first salesperson asked one question of me and then jumped right into his “pitch.” He was pretty good at telling me his story, but he had absolutely no idea about what my company does and no real understanding as to whether I needed his product. The second salesperson jumped right into the presentation without even asking my name. When I later asked him about his approach, he suggested that since I must have been very busy, he didn’t want to waste any time building rapport or assessing needs and thought that it would be better to just get right to the point.

Let me share 5 things that successful salespeople do, which you could also do to increase your sales. These five things are not secret or magic. In fact, they are probably things that you know, but just don’t do because you don’t understand how powerful they are in closing the sale.

1.  You should be closing the sale from the first moment the prospect first sets eyes on you. Your appearance is the first impression you make with the prospect. If you don’t have the look of a person they want to buy from, they probably won’t buy from you. Dress the part of a successful salesperson, act the part of a successful salesperson, speak the part of a successful salesperson and become a successful salesperson.

2.  The most important person in the world of selling is the customer. Treat them as if they are. Don’t put yourself above them and don’t focus on yourself. They may act polite, but they really don’t care about you. They care about themselves, their problems and what you can do for them. When you focus on the customer, you are literally closing the sale. 

3.  Diagnosing the customer’s needs, I believe, is even more important to the process of closing a sale than just flat out asking for the sale. People buy from people they believe, like and trust. Diagnosing needs, builds trust and confidence better than anything else you can do. Your prospects and customers will want to buy from you because you have gone where no other salesperson has ever ventured. You have discovered the core of their needs. For that reason alone, you have made the sale.

4.  Honesty is not typically expected from a salesperson. It should be the most important character trait of every person that sells, but sadly it isn’t. Your honest and straightforward approach, hiding nothing from the prospective buyer, is one of the best methods to close a sale. Honesty does not have degrees. You are either honest or you are not. Dishonesty will eventually lead to your failure as a salesperson. Your reputation will precede you. So remember, people buy from people they believe, like and trust.

5.  See the people. Spend time with your prospects and customers. Sales are not made in the office. Sales are made in the presence of buyers. Get out of your office and be among the people you are selling to. They want to see that you care enough to spend time with them. Romance your prospects and customers by delivering new news and repeating to them things you have previously shared. Selling takes place when you create a dialogue and you need to be with your prospects to have a dialogue. I’m not talking about bothering buyers with the two most worthless questions a salesperson can ask, i.e., “Have you made up your mind yet and do you have any questions?” Take them meaningful information and personally assist them in the decision making process.

There is no magic bullet or secret formula used by the world’s best salespeople. The difference is that they do the things that both you and they know and even though you know those things, you choose not to do them. You can quote me on this: “Successful salespeople do what they know, whereas, less successful sales people know, but don’t do.” The world of successful salespeople is characterized by doing, not just knowing.

Patience And Persistence Are Keys To Sales Success

We live in the “instant gratification” era. It has been categorized by cold cereal, instant mashed potatoes, microwave popcorn, energy bars, anything microwaveable, watching movies at home “on demand”, email, texting, and the internet just to name a few. This generation suffers greatly when they have to wait for anything. Young people demand the life-style that their parents enjoy, immediately upon leaving home. Instant gratification is also characterized by the size of consumer debt in the United States, nearly $2.4 trillion dollars as of March 2011. Average credit card debt per household is nearly $15,000. Buy now, pay later, seems to be the theme of this generation. There are a plethora of college degrees, which can be obtained over the Internet. Some of these degrees require no learning at all and a payment of just $240. For an additional $100 you can graduate Magna cum laude. This attitude of instant gratification has carried over into the world of employment, particularly selling.

The typical salesperson is not willing to prepare properly for a career in selling. They are looking for a career field that takes no preparation and will provide them a large income. They are unwilling to educate and prepare themselves to properly enter the job market. Many of these people want a salary that will guarantee them a wage as opposed to a commission that guarantees they earn the money they receive. I have interviewed salespeople who have asked for a substantial salary up front and then said that they would prove through their performance that they were worth the high salary. When I have countered with, “You perform first and then I will pay you the high salary”, they suddenly became less interested in the opportunity. The Chinese have a saying that refers to participating in sex before marriage, which translated means, “board the train first, and then buy your ticket.” Too often, the people of this instant gratification generation want all of the rewards and benefits without spending the time to prepare to earn them.

The typical salesperson will make just three attempts to complete a sale before they quit and move on. They lack the skills, patience and the persistence to complete all the sales that they could be making. Statistically we know that it takes between five and seven contacts with a prospective buyer before they feel comfortable buying from you. Without the belief and trust that you can deliver on your promises, the prospect will typically not purchase. The majority of salespeople want the sale now. They have been programed for instant gratification. They are unwilling to spend the time to romance the sale through building trust. They walk away from the sale because they don’t exhibit the patience necessary to complete the selling process. I was talking to a business owner the other day that told me he was ready to make a purchase from a salesperson that had been calling on him. He was sold on the product from the time the salesperson first approached him. The business owner told me that even though he was ready to make the purchase, he wanted the salesperson to earn the sale. In order to earn the sale, he needed to spend the time necessary with the business owner. Once he felt the salesperson had spent enough time, the owner would give him the purchase order.

Selling is a process. Every salesperson needs to learn and understand the process necessary to sell their products and services. There are no shortcuts! Each step of the process must be followed. Be patient and don’t try to rush the process. If you push, you may lose the opportunity. If you are not persistent, you may walk away too soon, leaving an easy sale for your competition. Selling is the process of discovering the needs of your prospect and then systematically providing the solution to their needs. To even be given the opportunity to discover their needs, you must demonstrate that you care about them, and are willing to do all that is necessary to earn their business. You must earn the right to present your product or service to them by thoroughly understanding the depth and breadth of their needs. The privilege of selling to them comes from spending the time to develop a relationship of belief and trust. Every phase of the sales process requires time. There is no such thing as “instant gratification” in the selling process.