What is selling?

Let’s make clear what selling is about!

Back in 2013, I saw the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street” and got angry because I saw a salesman making a fortune by cheating and deceiving customers who trusted him. And I got angrier and frustrated because I know this movie is based on a true story and mirrors a good part of the real world we live in. In all areas of business, there are bad salespeople who - due to lack of technical training and/or lack of values - do a bad job and, naively or deliberately, deceive customers. Hence, the sales profession is often frowned upon. Many customers avoid salespeople because sometimes they are inconvenient, do not care about serving well, they try to sell what the client does not want or need and they push, force or deceive clients.

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I enjoy reading articles by international sales experts. They all mention that clients buy because they feel “pain”. The word “pain”, in this context, should be understood figuratively and means “problem”. So, clients buy because they have problems to solve and they look for products and services that are the solution to those problems.

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Selling is a noble activity

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When performed correctly, sales are the activity of helping customers to solve problems. This implies engaging in a conversation with clients, talking to them to find out what problem they have, what difficulties they are feeling, what they have already done to solve that problem, what they need, what they like and don't like, what they want to achieve, what makes them happy and dreaming, how much they would be willing to pay for the solution and what would be the ideal solution for them. Then, having all this information collected during the conversation, you should be able to suggest a few alternatives of products or services that solve the problem. And you should be able to do it, by exceeding expectations and surprising your clients. So, selling is therefore a noble activity.

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Obviously, this is a complex process. It requires in-depth knowledge of products, market, clients, competition, sales and negotiation techniques. Hence, there are not many professionals who master the entire sales process, who know how to sell and delight customers. This requires knowing how to find the right clients for your product, knowing how to create rapport, build trust, knowing how to engage in a conversation and ask relevant questions, gathering information, knowing how to face and overcome objections, knowing how to explain the benefits and advantages of the solutions you present and mastering the art of closing of the sale.

The main objective is that, after closing the deal, the client will tell the seller:

“Thank you very much for helping me solve my problem”.

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