“To succeed in sales, simply talk to lots of people every day. And here’s what’s exciting-there are lots of people!”-Jim Rohn
By definition, all businesses are engaged in selling. A sale is essentially a transfer of value for some form of compensation. Therefore, regardless of what field you are in, you are selling.
I have never considered myself a salesman. But I understand that this is purely semantics. The fact is, that even though I am in a referral networking business where I don’t exchange product for money, I still am creating a situation where a product is transferred to a person in exchange for money. So whether I look at it as selling or not, it is still a type of sales. I am a non-confrontational person who doesn’t enjoy trying to convince someone they should or should not do something. However, I DO consider it a responsibility to share something with another person that I believe could benefit them. What I have learned, is that if I do this the right way, with a nice, honest, and respectful approach, and if I am willing to allow the other person to go through whatever process they need to in their decision making, and act as a helpful source of the proper information so they can be as informed as possible, I seem to create a lot of transactions and develop long term customer relationships.
The late Jim Rohn’s quote from years ago is as true today as it was when he said it and as true today as it has been for centuries. People have needs and they would like to fill those needs. Success in sales is no more than putting yourself in a position to help people fill their needs. The more you do it the more you sell. It doesn’t matter what your level of skill, you can succeed if you will talk to enough people and do it in the right way.
People have needs and they would like to fill those needs. Success in sales is no more than putting yourself in a position to help people fill their needs.
In today’s world of technology and instant communication, the ability to make contact with people and open the door for a conversation about what you have to offer has never been easier. The methods of delivering information have never been faster or more efficient. When I first started over 20 years ago, I was working part time at building my business. My primary tool was a land line telephone and I was limited to mostly contacting people at their home in the evening, because they only had a land line telephone. If they were interested in my product or opportunity, I would then either have to set an appointment to meet them or send them a package of information in the mail and wait three or four days for them to receive it before we could talk about their level of interest by phone in the evening. This process worked then and still works today.
In today’s world you can reach someone almost any time via mobile phone (call or text) or email or Facebook message and other ways. You can then use technology to have them reviewing information via the internet minutes later. It is much much faster to make connections and open the door about what you have to offer. In other words, today’s technology advances allow you to “talk” to more people, faster.
The bottom line though is this: if you want to succeed you need to talk to lots of people. It is this simple. That doesn’t make it EASY. There is a reason only a small percentage of the population earns a six figure income. It is not because they are more talented or more skilled, although some are talented and skilled. It is not because they are better educated or better trained, although some are. It is purely because they talk to a lot of people, consistently, day in and day out, and they never quit. They know this simple principle and they put the principle to work for them.
They know that some will be interested and some won’t. They know that some will not believe what they say. They know that some people are so cynical about life in general that they cannot get out of their own way. They don’t try to change these people. They simply talk to more people to find the ones who are ready for what they have to offer.
Don’t complicate things. No magic system will build your business for the long term for you. Only you, by talking to lots of people, will build your success. You have no limitations. If you are breathing and you can be nice and you can open your mouth, then you can succeed.
