You can't sell what you're not.
“You can’t sell what you’re not.”
It is rare in my biography that I come across “perfectly constructed” axioms, tenets, or observations. That is to say, the essence of something is rarely as simple to grasp as it is to state. I recently came across a statement which embodies the essence of value added selling.
“You can’t sell what you’re not.”
Think about that for a moment. Everybody reading this blog has had the occasion in their lives to cheat and win at something. You did, didn’t you? If even only once? The truth is that it’s no damn fun to cheat and win. And the higher the stakes, the more crushing the blow from conscience. Everyone reading this knows it. Unless…
Unless of course it’s OK with you to exploit an urgency; mark up a price in anticipation of marking it down; lie to or mislead someone who has trusted your authority; amplify a problem unethically or create one that wasn’t present; or even to answer their most trust-evident question: “What should I do? (Or what would you do if it was yours…)”…
Really? Never? Never even been remotely vague when you thought the answer to the customers’ question was out of their reach, or “pretended” to know something you didn’t know? Good for you! See, if your ethical intuition isn’t telling you, at the end of the day, that you were crooked in some way, then it is likely that you can’t lie, cheat, or steal from customers! Yay! Because you’re NOT that.
You can’t sell what you’re not.
Ever wonder why so many salespeople just don’t get (or ever figure out why they should care about) the customers’ viewpoints and simple conversational selling? They can’t. It’s OK with them. Their bells AREN’T ringing the way yours are if you mislead a customer.
You can’t sell what you’re not.
You have to BE that. If you’re not willing or able to understand and embrace the roles of “salesmanship” and “trust” ethically and responsibly, then your salesmanship may never live up to your craftsmanship, product knowledge, or expertise.
It’s not impressive to make sales with unfair advantages. It IS impressive to play by the rules and still win.
Happy Selling
It is rare in my biography that I come across “perfectly constructed” axioms, tenets, or observations. That is to say, the essence of something is rarely as simple to grasp as it is to state. I recently came across a statement which embodies the essence of value added selling.
“You can’t sell what you’re not.”
Think about that for a moment. Everybody reading this blog has had the occasion in their lives to cheat and win at something. You did, didn’t you? If even only once? The truth is that it’s no damn fun to cheat and win. And the higher the stakes, the more crushing the blow from conscience. Everyone reading this knows it. Unless…
Unless of course it’s OK with you to exploit an urgency; mark up a price in anticipation of marking it down; lie to or mislead someone who has trusted your authority; amplify a problem unethically or create one that wasn’t present; or even to answer their most trust-evident question: “What should I do? (Or what would you do if it was yours…)”…
Really? Never? Never even been remotely vague when you thought the answer to the customers’ question was out of their reach, or “pretended” to know something you didn’t know? Good for you! See, if your ethical intuition isn’t telling you, at the end of the day, that you were crooked in some way, then it is likely that you can’t lie, cheat, or steal from customers! Yay! Because you’re NOT that.
You can’t sell what you’re not.
Ever wonder why so many salespeople just don’t get (or ever figure out why they should care about) the customers’ viewpoints and simple conversational selling? They can’t. It’s OK with them. Their bells AREN’T ringing the way yours are if you mislead a customer.
You can’t sell what you’re not.
You have to BE that. If you’re not willing or able to understand and embrace the roles of “salesmanship” and “trust” ethically and responsibly, then your salesmanship may never live up to your craftsmanship, product knowledge, or expertise.
It’s not impressive to make sales with unfair advantages. It IS impressive to play by the rules and still win.
Happy Selling
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