If you’re a newer agent, you’ve probably struggled about what to put on those business cards. Maybe you have shied away from putting ‘salesperson’. I know. To some, the word ‘salesperson’ has a negative meaning. It did to me as a new agent. I came from the world of music, where there was no ‘sales resistance’ and everyone respected me because I was a college music teacher. I learned the value of becoming a salesperson–a really, really good salesperson, because I learned I could help people do what they wanted to do–and just needed someone to facilitate that.
If There Were No Salespeople
Where would we be without sales skills and salespeople? Here are some of the notable people today that you don’t think are in sales–but who have really, really good sales skills (and have to have, to get us to embrace their ideas):
Madonna (she may not be the best singer, but, boy, does she know how to sell herself)
President Obama (he must be able to sell himself and his programs)
Warren Buffet (help people embrace his investment ideas)
Bill Gates (Sell Microsoft and its products)
What Salespeople Do–and Why You Should Be Proud to Call Yourself a ‘Salesperson
As my first ‘boss’ in real estate said, ” If there were no salespeople, few/no goods would be bought” (except those that are absolutely needed). In fact, as Bob pointed out, the economy would come to a grinding halt. Look at what’s happening in our economy today. People are just starting to spend money again, and salespeople should be there to help people see the benefits of buying.
Sales Skills are Artistic and Not So Easy to Master
Now, there is a movement against using anything with the connotation of ‘sales’. Yet, there is nothing wrong–and everything right–about the art of sales. Using properly, sales helps people see the benefits of buying whatever they are considering.
Poor Sales Hurts the Consumer–Really Hurts!
As a long-time real estate salesperson, I saw buyers and sellers actually stopped from purchasing or selling because their salesperson was so inept. That meant the customer lost hundreds of thousands of dollars down the road! In fact, 99% of the mistakes agents I observed salespeople make were not in forcing, manipulating, or lying their way into getting someone to do something not in their best interest but rather
stopping a buyer or seller from doing what’s best for him/her because the salesperson had such lousy skills
Become a Blazingly Good Salesperson
If you have some reticence at the word ‘salesperson’, tackle that reticence right now. You aren’t just a licensee; you aren’t just an agent; you are a sales professional. You discover prospects (lead generation). You uncover prospects’ needs; you help prospects investigate new possibilities; you help prospects prioritize information and properties; you negotiate on their behalf. Those are all sales not agent skills. Agency is just a license. Sales is a skill and an art. Because an artist of what you do!
