A friend and I were discussing auto sales in preparation for a presentation he will be delivering tomorrow on that topic. It got me to thinking … are salesman, at least in some industries, an anachronism? Those who do survive and succeed will, I am certain, have a markedly different mindset than what they have known before, and they will use a different skill set: that of purposeful and insightful questioning.
In my comments, I reference “GREAT questions.” In Choice Analysis, our proprietary decision-making training, we teach the questions that decision makers need to ask and answer in order to choose wisely. These same questions can be used to facilitate another’s decision process to truly help them get what will best satisfy their needs.
This knowledge, employed by a TOTALLY customer-focused “purchasing advisor” (my suggestion to replace the title “salesman”), sets the stage for valuable information exchange, increasing trust and, ultimately, more sales. In fact, this framework would assist anyone involved in “consultative sales.”
What are your thoughts on the state of sales? How would you advise those who are in the business of pushing commodities to reinvent themselves in the face of the information onslaught that is the Internet?
Just saw it again on Twitter:
“Best coaching question ever asked: ‘ What if it’s and…and, instead of, this… or… that?’ ” I admit that I don’t know the context, but that struck a discordant note.
At one time, I considered this (and similar) sentiments to be the height of wisdom. And the people who uttered such profound statements sounded so reasonable. “We’re dealing with a paradox … we need to have both/and thinking … we must think outside of the box … etc., etc.”
I don’t wish to deny complexity: some solutions are not easy. And yet (here I go), I have to plant a flag in the sand: NO MORE FUTURISTIC GOBBLEDY GOOK!
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We are currently assisting one client by coaching some of their people who are being downsized and helping them rapidly transition to new and profitable work. Our Career Coaching process is a variation of Choice Analysis. The Career Coaching process is simple and powerful. We use it to coach others. It is also a superior pathway if you are the one who is currently what our strategic partner Elizabeth Allen calls a “free agent.”
I have uploaded the Career Coaching Process Outline as a Word document. Feel free to use it. If you print it or otherwise transmit it, please ensure that the copyright notice is retained. If you do use it for yourself or with your clients, post a comment here letting us know any results achieved.
And it is an outline, so if you have questions, just ask.
