Selling, Persuading, Communicating, and Negotiating
Written on 5:22 PM by Mark Osborne
Although this blog is typically just about my quest for the Million Dollar iPhone App, I'm going to branch out and start discussing other Marketing, Sales, and New Media topics...
Too many times, people confuse selling, persuading, communicating, and negotiating. Professional Selling is a process, involving many, many steps and many, many skills.
Persuasion is a skill. You can cajole someone into a one time transaction, but you didn't sell them anything, you just tricked them. If you sell someone something they feel good about the transaction and look forward to buying from you again in the future. If you are overly persuasive, your customer will make a bad decision, and blame you for it. There are many points in the sales process where persuasion is helpful and even neccessary, however simply eliciting an emotional "buy" may work for candy in the grocery check-out lane, but isn't the basis of a professional transaction. Too much persuasion makes you slick, like a revivalist stealing from the offering plate or a used car salesman peddling lemons.
Communicating is also a skill. Good communication is often a part of persuasion, but you can communicate without being persuasive. Good communication is usually part of the sales process as you educate a client on the benefits of your product or service. However, the most valuable part of communication in the sales process is LISTENING. Understanding a clients needs makes a salesperson better able to address them. Meeting needs is the key to a successful sale. The fast talking salesman belongs with the overly persuasive huckster.
Negotiating should only take place after a sale has been made. Too many times sellers try to negotiate on price as a way of selling thier product. If you buy a product simply because it was a low price you still feel like you got ripped off , because you weren't SOLD on the fact that you needed it to begin with! You still feel tricked! Professional sellers know that price is not the only aspect of the deal that can be negotiated. Length of contract, perks, add-ons, billing arrangement, customer support plans etc. are all opportunities for negotiation.
Next time your selling something - even if it's trying to sell your friends on a particular restaurant for dinner, think about the process. Communicate first, listening to find out thier needs, be persuasive in explaining how your solution fits thier needs, then negotiate once you've reached an agreement in principle. You'll win more often and wind up with happier customers in the process!
Too many times, people confuse selling, persuading, communicating, and negotiating. Professional Selling is a process, involving many, many steps and many, many skills.
Persuasion is a skill. You can cajole someone into a one time transaction, but you didn't sell them anything, you just tricked them. If you sell someone something they feel good about the transaction and look forward to buying from you again in the future. If you are overly persuasive, your customer will make a bad decision, and blame you for it. There are many points in the sales process where persuasion is helpful and even neccessary, however simply eliciting an emotional "buy" may work for candy in the grocery check-out lane, but isn't the basis of a professional transaction. Too much persuasion makes you slick, like a revivalist stealing from the offering plate or a used car salesman peddling lemons.
Communicating is also a skill. Good communication is often a part of persuasion, but you can communicate without being persuasive. Good communication is usually part of the sales process as you educate a client on the benefits of your product or service. However, the most valuable part of communication in the sales process is LISTENING. Understanding a clients needs makes a salesperson better able to address them. Meeting needs is the key to a successful sale. The fast talking salesman belongs with the overly persuasive huckster.
Negotiating should only take place after a sale has been made. Too many times sellers try to negotiate on price as a way of selling thier product. If you buy a product simply because it was a low price you still feel like you got ripped off , because you weren't SOLD on the fact that you needed it to begin with! You still feel tricked! Professional sellers know that price is not the only aspect of the deal that can be negotiated. Length of contract, perks, add-ons, billing arrangement, customer support plans etc. are all opportunities for negotiation.
Next time your selling something - even if it's trying to sell your friends on a particular restaurant for dinner, think about the process. Communicate first, listening to find out thier needs, be persuasive in explaining how your solution fits thier needs, then negotiate once you've reached an agreement in principle. You'll win more often and wind up with happier customers in the process!
If you enjoyed this post Subscribe to our feed
