Greetings and Blessings to you and your business this year!
The following is a business message that I thought would be beneficial to ALL CPA members and friends. It comes from the book, "Go-Givers Sell More" by Bob Burg and John David Mann.
"I'm no good at selling!" Have you ever heard someone say that, or perhaps said it yourself? We hear it all the time. Everyone who is not in sales thinks, "I could never sell."
Truth is, most people who are in sales (in fact, in ANY area of business) secretly think the same thing. There is a reason people feel this way: most of us look at sales backwards. We may see it as convincing people to do something they don't want to do. But it isn't; it's about learning what people do want to do and helping them do that. Or, we may think it's about taking advantage of others-while in fact, it's about giving other people more advantage. But the biggest inversion of all, the great upside-down misconception about sales, is that it is an effort to get something from others. The truth is that sales is at best, that is, at its most effective--is precisely the opposite: it is about giving.
Selling is giving: giving time, attention, counsel, education, empathy, and value. In fact, the word sell comes from the Old English word sellan, which means--you guessed it--"to give."
The truth about selling is that it's not about your product, and its not about you--it's about the other person. Genuinely great salespeople are not great because they have mastered "the close," or because they give a dazzling presentation, or because they could shoot holes in any customer objection from fifty paces. They are great because they create a vast and spreading sphere of goodwill wherever they go. They enrich, enhance, and add value to people's lives. They make people happier.
But the most remarkable thing about these consummate salespeople is that they are not as rare as you might think. In fact, you can find them everywhere. This is because being adept at sales does not require mastery of complex or elaborate skills. As Debra Davenport says in a book titled, "The Go-Giver"--"You want people skills? Then be a person."
This is very good news, because it means that anyone can be great in sales. It means YOU can be great in sales. You might think that to do so, you need to have an outgoing, naturally jovial, gregarious personality. Not true. Shy people create relationships and get married. Introverts make great friends. You don't need to be a "people person" or any specific type of person to be great at selling. In fact, the idea itself--that you might have to be a certain sort of person to be great in sales--completely misses the point:
It's not about you: it's about them.
Those seven words are the key message in the book "Go-Givers Sell More". The authors believe it's worth the effort for them to write it, and for you to read it--because your life in sales and in business will transform. Focus on the quality of the relationship and on providing value to the other person, regardless of "making the sale" and you will create an exchange that is both more satisfying AND more profitable.
THIS MONTH IN CPA NEWS
There is NO CPA meeting this month. Enjoy the start of the summer season! Be encouraged--you can add to your business success if you remember seven simple words:
It's not about you: it's about them.
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