by Carol Dunlop
Sales is a conversation or at least it’s supposed to be. Yesterday, I was on a coaching/sales call with a rep from a company that I am thinking of working with. I’ve been in sales both for my business and as a manager and director for a couple other companies. That’s why I expected there would be a pitch or offer coming at some point in our conversation. I don’t fear or fret over the pitches because they actually excite me. It’s because I can learn from both the good ones and the bad ones.
The call started out on a great vibe and the rep quickly established rapport and was earning my trust. That was, until I felt that what I had said to him earlier was being used against me to hone in on why I wasn’t immediately ready to whip out my credit card.
He wasn’t being disrespectful or rude in any way. Actually, the entire conversation was enjoyable, for the most part. But at a certain point, I began to fall out of like with what he was saying to me. I knew what I wanted and needed and his organization certainly sounded like they could fulfill my wishes, but something felt off.
I began to feel as if I were only a number or another “close” and not the person that I was (to him) at the beginning of the call.
Has that ever happened to you?
It took me back to when I was on the other side of the conversation years ago, at the beginning of my fitness career when I had to sell for a living. I hated it! And I hated the way management made me make the future client feel. In the end, it was all about the numbers and not really about the person.
No wonder I felt so sleezy and icky about sales for such a long time.
Sales is a conversation
That was until I met Wendy Y Bailey. Working with her, I learned that sales is a conversation. Both people have a say and a goal to achieve. And, during the sales conversation, you establish rapport and learn about each other. It’s also the perfect time to discover what the buyer wants and needs so as the seller, you can fulfill the buyer’s needs.
After working with WendyY, I no longer fear or dread sales conversations. I actually look forward to them, because they are an opportunity for me to build my business with ideal clients who WANT to work with me. As your Online WOW Specialist, I know sales is at the heart of profitability, business growth and my overall success.
I didn’t end up purchasing the product, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t, it just means that it wasn’t the right time for me right now.
How do you feel about sales as a conversation?
Carol Dunlop
An energetic and personable networker, Carol Dunlop is among the elite in her field, her clients refer to her as a tech and social media phenom which fits right in with her tagline of being “The Online WOW! Strategist.” She is VP of Marketing and Communications at CSI Corporation, the company she founded more than twenty years ago with her husband Alvin. She is also VP of Marketing and Innovation for Write Books That Sell Now, a partnership she founded with two other women entrepreneurs. And is also serving as the VP of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships for ProWIN, a women’s business networking group in Atlanta.
Hey WendyY, thank you so much for featuring my post about sales. Working with you has helped me so much in so many ways, especially in how I view sales conversations, bring ’em on!
Thanks Carol. I appreciate you lending your perspective about the sales conversation. Sometimes, I take for granted that people know how to sell so it feels great to know I’m connecting content that makes a difference for you. Go get ’em, Lady!!