The New Age of Sales
Times are rapidly changing. The old style of sales is obsolete. The new age of sales is dominating. Businesses are getting killed by the internet. Consumers are losing “brand loyalty,” as if they ever even had it. Businesses are crumbling. Management is blaming. Salespeople are panicking. The solution? Change the way you do business to the new age of sales. An answer so simple yet people still refuse to make the change. Doing nothing is perhaps doing the most. The future is here and it's best to embrace it!
The Old Age of Sales
By now you may be wondering “what is the old age of sales?” While I don’t have a definition, I can easily describe it for you. It’s that sleazy salesman that’s trying to rip you off. The one that’s continuously smooth talking and trying to get your money. They don’t care about you or your wants, needs, or the problem you’re trying to solve. You wonder if they’re even listening to you when you speak to them. Throughout the sales interaction, they’re trying to control you and challenge you. They make you feel uneasy and bring a negative energy that causes you to become quiet and nervous. Time? Don’t even get me started on how inconsiderate they are of your time. You ask a question only to get it shot back at you, unanswered of course, in the form of another question. They make you think that you’re being lied to and that the truth is being hidden. The whole time this is happening all you want to do is...
What’s messed up is in the past consumers would still buy because they had a lack of information, resources, and options. The internet allowed customers to have the power and it’s exactly why the internet is dominating, in most cases. It’s left business and salespeople in shambles fearing for their futures, income, and jobs. Have any of these situations ever happened to you? If you were working with someone using old age selling, I’m going to go ahead and assume yes.
This is a message for anyone that uses old age selling. This style of selling is unethical. If you think it’s right, you should pursue a different career. Not only that but you need to start being more introspective because screwing people over is terrible. People don’t need to suffer or lose for you to gain or get ahead in life.
That being said, it’s not too late to change. You can change to the new age of sales pretty easily. Start with being open minded. An open mind will allow you to do so much in life. If you want to succeed and turn your business around you need to change, and fast. Take responsibility for everything that has happened to you and your business. It’s not the internet or your customers. It’s you and only you. If you’re working for a company that refuses to change or adapt to this new age of sales, I recommend you leave as quick as possible. Why would you want to work for a company like that anyway?
The New Age of Sales
"The best marketing strategy ever: CARE" -Gary Vaynerchuk
So, what’s the new age of sales? While I don’t have a definition for this either, I have outlined the following bullet points that add up to the new age of sales. Keep in mind that each one of these are essential for new age selling. Missing even one will cause all these building block to crumble:
-
You care. You truly care about your client’s wants, needs, and problem they’re trying to solve. You care so much that if you don’t have the right solution for them you tell them that. You never sell something just to sell something.
-
You’re respectful of time. Time is the most valuable asset that your client has. You’re quick with everything you do for every second wasted goes against you getting the sale.
-
You talk 40% of the time and listen 60% of the time. Shut up and sell. Listening is different than hearing. You ask questions, engage, and provide the solution. If you need any help with what questions to ask your client check out my post on it here.
-
You provide the best service. This is what will separate you from the internet or competitors. If you can’t say your provide the best service in your industry what are you doing? Seriously, this is the easiest thing to control and will cause the biggest impact.
-
You don’t aim to control. If the customer wants to see or do something different, you adapt. They steer the ship, not you.
-
You connect. Starbucks created a $85 billion company based on this simple concept. People don’t go to Starbucks for the product. They go for the experience they get from the baristas connecting with them. They make people feel special which makes people happy to spend $5-$10 on a cup of coffee. Why’s it never about price at Starbucks? They connect and care about their customers and employees!
-
You’re enthusiastic. Excitement is transferable. If you get put in a mental body bag by your client, you are still friendly, have a smile, and are excited for more!
-
You embrace the internet. Use the internet to your advantage. Everyone uses the internet. Everyone. So you need to accept this and quit worrying about your margins. Don’t fear the internet, it’s your most helpful tool.
-
You answer questions truthfully. No more of the whole not answering questions shit. So unethical. You answer questions and you are truthful with your answers. If you don’t know an answer you are upfront with that and go retrieve the answer from someone who does.
-
You’re trustworthy. Your word is your bond. You must be honest with everything.
-
Your follow-up doesn’t end at the close. It only just begins.
-
You’re open and don’t hide anything. Be upfront even about the negatives. Your customers will respect you more for it. Don’t cause your client’s unnecessary stress. Be upfront even if it means losing the business.
-
You don’t sell price you sell value. It’s never about price. Get out of the discount seller’s mentality. Remember my example on Starbucks? If not, reread it.
-
You are ethical 100% of the time. There’s a saying that if you can’t advertise your sales process that you’re being unethical. I think this is huge. If at any point you can’t advertise your sales process you need to change it. That’s old age sales at it’s finest right there. If you need any help with a sales process check out my sales process here.
Say goodbye to the old age of sales. No more random scrambling to do whatever just to get a sale. I know you may nervous about the change but you’ll feel a giant weight being lifted off your shoulders. The results are worth it.
You need to change with the times or you and your business will fail. The good news is new age selling is super effective. New age selling helped grow the retail business I was managing 24.4% year over year. The crazies part was 4 out of the 6 major competitors in town could sell literally the exact same product. I threw out all the old techniques and books on selling and started from scratch. You want to know the best outcomes from this new age of selling?
-
The staff and sales team treated our customers like kings and were happy to come to work. They were proud of what we were accomplishing and had no ethical dilemmas with my sales process. Turnover was at a company low, numbers were at all-time highs, and the salespeople made great money.
-
The customer experience was the best. Our clients were ecstatic about their purchases but more so that we cared about their well-being. Word of mouth spread like crazy and we controlled our own traffic.
-
The numbers exploded and all records were broken. The store’s numbers, the salesman’s numbers, business profitability, and out bank accounts all grew rapidly. I can tell you this right now. 75% of our customers could have received a lower price at any one of our competitors. It’s never price and always value.
This is the power of this new age of sales. Success is an understatement. Granted, none of this was easy. This required me to reconfigure the entire way we did business but more importantly we had to reprogram our mindset. That’s what held us back and it’s most likely the biggest thing holding you back. Knowing all of this will do nothing without taking action. If even half of what I’m telling you is right, what’s stopping you from making the switch to the new age of sales?
Subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss out on anything and get all my exclusive content! 🙂
Be great,
You care. You truly care about your client’s wants, needs, and problem they’re trying to solve. You care so much that if you don’t have the right solution for them you tell them that. You never sell something just to sell something.
You’re respectful of time. Time is the most valuable asset that your client has. You’re quick with everything you do for every second wasted goes against you getting the sale.
You talk 40% of the time and listen 60% of the time. Shut up and sell. Listening is different than hearing. You ask questions, engage, and provide the solution. If you need any help with what questions to ask your client check out my post on it here.
You provide the best service. This is what will separate you from the internet or competitors. If you can’t say your provide the best service in your industry what are you doing? Seriously, this is the easiest thing to control and will cause the biggest impact.
You don’t aim to control. If the customer wants to see or do something different, you adapt. They steer the ship, not you.
You connect. Starbucks created a $85 billion company based on this simple concept. People don’t go to Starbucks for the product. They go for the experience they get from the baristas connecting with them. They make people feel special which makes people happy to spend $5-$10 on a cup of coffee. Why’s it never about price at Starbucks? They connect and care about their customers and employees!
You’re enthusiastic. Excitement is transferable. If you get put in a mental body bag by your client, you are still friendly, have a smile, and are excited for more!
You embrace the internet. Use the internet to your advantage. Everyone uses the internet. Everyone. So you need to accept this and quit worrying about your margins. Don’t fear the internet, it’s your most helpful tool.
You answer questions truthfully. No more of the whole not answering questions shit. So unethical. You answer questions and you are truthful with your answers. If you don’t know an answer you are upfront with that and go retrieve the answer from someone who does.
You’re trustworthy. Your word is your bond. You must be honest with everything.
Your follow-up doesn’t end at the close. It only just begins.
You’re open and don’t hide anything. Be upfront even about the negatives. Your customers will respect you more for it. Don’t cause your client’s unnecessary stress. Be upfront even if it means losing the business.
You don’t sell price you sell value. It’s never about price. Get out of the discount seller’s mentality. Remember my example on Starbucks? If not, reread it.
You are ethical 100% of the time. There’s a saying that if you can’t advertise your sales process that you’re being unethical. I think this is huge. If at any point you can’t advertise your sales process you need to change it. That’s old age sales at it’s finest right there. If you need any help with a sales process check out my sales process here.
The staff and sales team treated our customers like kings and were happy to come to work. They were proud of what we were accomplishing and had no ethical dilemmas with my sales process. Turnover was at a company low, numbers were at all-time highs, and the salespeople made great money.
The customer experience was the best. Our clients were ecstatic about their purchases but more so that we cared about their well-being. Word of mouth spread like crazy and we controlled our own traffic.
The numbers exploded and all records were broken. The store’s numbers, the salesman’s numbers, business profitability, and out bank accounts all grew rapidly. I can tell you this right now. 75% of our customers could have received a lower price at any one of our competitors. It’s never price and always value.
Comments
Post a Comment