My 3 year old daughter, Gretchen, loves having Jelly Belly jelly beans for dessert. Here is a recent exchange between us following dinner.
Gretchen: Daddy, can I have jelly beans?
Me: Sure.
Gretchen: Can I have 10?
Me: (Chuckling) No, you know our deal. You get 5 jelly beans for dessert.
Gretchen: (Coy little smile) Yeah… Can I have 8?
Me: Well…
Gretchen: Pleeeaaasseee?
Me: Okay, but don’t tell Mommy. All right?
Gretchen: I wuv you!
Me: Yeah, I wuv you, too. I think I’ve been had.

There is an old sales axiom that states, “If you want to learn how to be an effective salesperson, watch a young child ask for something.” Until I actually had a child, this advice didn’t really register with me. As soon as we had this conversation, I started hearing all kinds of comical alarm bells & whistles going off. (Whoop! Whoop! Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!)

Let’s analyze this a bit:  Some key traits of being effective in sales
a.) Selective Hearing – She didn’t hear me when I said “No” the first time
b.) Persistence – She wanted more than 5, and compromised without settling for the status quo.
c.) Closing skills – She heard my buying signal and immediately asked for the sale with her patented “I can get my daddy to do almost anything if I smile sweetly and ask politely” look and an appropriate closing question.
d.) Follow through – She ensured I wouldn’t change my mind by telling me, in her own way, that I had made the right choice and that I was already getting value in return. Who doesn’t want to be wuvved, right?

Whether your title is “Salesperson” or not, you are in sales. Everyone is selling something. The owner of a company is selling his/her employees on doing things that make it profitable. A manager is selling his staff on following his/her guidance in order to achieve an identified objective. A parent is selling a child on behaving properly so there is peace in the home. A child is selling her daddy on the idea that a few extra jelly beans is worth a beautiful smile and a slobbery little kiss. Start paying attention to interactions and see if you can determine what is being sold. It will help you become a better salesperson, too!

Feel free to share your own story. I love the opportunity to correspond with fellow salespeople.

Tags: closing skills, follow through, persistance, Sales, salesperson, selective hearing
Categories: Business Development, Sales, Success.

Posted on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 10:58 am
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