Selling is . . .
. . . the one game in town that pays the bills,
that keeps the doors open, that nobody wants to admit they do.

"I'm not in sales, I'm a supervisor, doctor, lawyer, banker, administrator, accountant."
"Don't look at me, I'm just the secretary, nurse, receptionist, shipping clerk."
Funny - if nobody sells . . .
how do you get new students, new patients, new clients, new customers?

Selling is everyone's business and when it's not, you're in trouble.

Think about it . . .
remember the time you decided not to go back to a company,
because the shipping clerk sent you the wrong item,
the receptionist was cold and surly;
the manager didn't have time to talk to a mere customer,
the doctor had you wait two hours.

That's selling . . . negative selling.

Remember - everyone sells, and not just externally, but internally as well.
When you want a raise, you sell your boss on your skills and value.

When you set new policies and procedures you sell these to your staff in a way they can accept,
or you'll soon find they'll ignore them.
When you expect more of your staff than you're willing to properly train and supervise them for,
you're whistling up a hollow tree,
because they're only as good as the training you give them.

But there's more to selling than that . . .

Selling is knowing . . .
Who's your competition?
Who's your customer, client, patient or public?
And what's important - you or them?

Selling is knowing . . .
What your service, idea, or product is - and isn't;
what your public's needs are;
and what services or products you offer to fit those needs.

Selling is knowing . . .
When to market and where;
Where your competition isn't and then being there;
Why some things are accepted and others not.

Selling is knowing . . .
How to treat your public as you would like to be treated;
How to market and merchandise better than your competition;
How to listen and learn from your staff as well as your public;
How to assess your own knowledge, or lack of it about your services, ideas, goods or products;
and how to make it easier for your public to accept what you are offering.

And finally, Selling is knowing that this business is after all, a profession . . .
The Profession of Selling.

Let us not pretend it's someone else's problem.

ABOUT THE POEM

I refer to the above as a poem. I am often asked if I wrote it. I wish I had, but, alas, I didn't. When I started my business in 1983, I asked Joan Campf of J. Campf & Associates, Portland, Oregon, to write the copy for my brochure. We discussed, no, we argued, about how to express my approach to business and, in particular, to selling. To my surprise, when she handed me the draft copy, here was this poem. It expresses my thoughts now just as it did then. In addition to having it on every version of my brochure, it is on the home page of my web site, and I often use it in my seminars and workshops. -- AJZ

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I've put these articles are on my web site to show the approach we take about business topics that affect sales. If, in reading them, they help you and your business, that's great. That's what I'm in business to do. In return, please eMail me your comments (positive or negative). To publish any article in digital or print form for other than personal or internal business use, click here for reprint fees. ajz

Copyright © 2000-2007 Alan J. Zell, Ambassador of Selling, Portland, OR. All rights reserved.

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