THE MOUNTAIN

I know about sales, I get it, and I know the old school sales people don’t take it very well when we “shop” them. In fact they take it as a huge insult when we say “I’m just shopping around to find the best value for the best price”. But every time that I can think of, where I’ve ever “settled” as a consumer, I’ve lost. If someone ever “sells” me, it’s because the sales person is giving me insight on what is the best value, but is still open to my decision. That person is willing to walk away from a sale, if I would be better served by their competitor. And they sell me about themselves way before they ever sell me on a product.

There aren’t very many people out there like this. So when you find them, they stand out, and you can tell they’re different from the rest. These people are who I want to work with.

This is where trust comes into play. I won’t trust someone who is only thinking of me as a paycheck. But if you genuinely care about me, (and I can tell) you’ll see me whenever I need something you have to offer. I look for people like you, to send all my friends to, and more importantly my family. But you can’t fake it, because I know when you’re faking. It may not be all that evident at first, but at some point I will figure it out. I won’t make a big deal about it, but you won’t see me anymore in the realm of business.

I’ve had this discussion many times with good friends. My point being you don’t just wake up one day and have trust. You build it, and it takes many years sometimes. It’s an investment of your time, blood, sweat, and tears. It’s a long term investment, as apposed to a get rich quick scheme.

I say this affectionately, and if you’re a sales person take it from me, IR12. Many of my friends are sales people. Some get it, some don’t, but I still love them.:D If you ever get the chance to get to know someone who’s in sales personally, I would really recommend it. Sales people make a living by thinking on their feet, and many times the consequence of this is an excellent sense of humor. Most of the sales people I know, are the best of people to hang out with.

This is one of the best things about real estate for me. I live and breath by the words I’ve written above. Some people would say that I won’t last because I won’t “hard sell”. But I think it’s the exact opposite. The consumer today has a hard spot in their hearts for people who push things on them when they’re not ready to buy. I think society has changed over the years, and I would suggest that this is one of the reasons the internet is so heavily used today. People are doing their own research before they ever see a sales person, and already know what they want. But you say “they don’t know what they want until they see and touch it”, and that is true to some extent. I would keep in mind though, they’ve done their research, and they may never tell you what they know.

I think about spammers and telemarketers. I mean we all love these guys right? If I get a phone call from someone who’s going to sell me something in 30 seconds or less, they don’t get a chance to finish the first sentence normally. And one of the best things about Gmail is how good they screen the spam from getting through. But in the end, these people are really going to sell me something right? Speaking for myself, if I want buy something I do my research first. I don’t want to buy something to find out if it will work for what I want it for. And I won’t take the word of someone I don’t trust, as to whether it will.

Just a thought. All IMHO of course. I’d love to hear what you think, because I could be wrong. Seriously, I’ve been told by some before that “I want to be sold”. If that means they want someone to work hard for them, educate them and so on, I’m all over that!

But how do you shop for new things? What do you look for in a sales person?

This is just something that interests me, and I’d love to know what you think.