What, Exactly, is Sales?

I define sales as the act of negotiating the transaction between a problem and a solution. There are others who may argue, but they would be wrong.

A customer will only purchase something that they feel provides value. Value is entirely in the eye of the beholder and can take any form imaginable. But let there be no misunderstanding, there must be value or there is no incentive for the customer to purchase.

As a sales person, the goal is to identify exactly what the customer’s problem is. The most common tactical error is to start the selling process by presenting the service or product that you are selling. Without properly engaging the customer and identifying their problem, you have no right to present your solution and assume that they will match it to their problem. More importantly, you have no way to know the value proposition to present because you don’t know what problem is that you are trying to solve.

Take the time to engage your customer; learn what the problem is that they are dealing with. If you do have a solution to their problem, then it is time to present your solution and illustrate the return on their investment. Once they agree that your product or service is the solution to their problem, now the selling begins; it’s time to negotiate the transaction.

The best sales person in the word sells the same product as his or her competitor for a higher price. More importantly, their customer knows that they got good value for their money.