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I recently read an article about one of the most successful life insurance salesman in America. I forget the exact figures, but his earnings were absolutely massive - at least $1 million a year. Most businesses involve some element of 'sales', whether face to face, on the phone, by mail, or some other method. Few people would argue against the view that selling life insurance has to be among the most difficult tasks in business. It's a product which most people just don't want to think about. The person being sold to won't benefit personally from the product (they'll be dead!) and the competition is fierce. To add to the difficulty, life assurance salesmen are not a popular breed. Being introduced to a life assurance salesman puts most people on their guard. So, anyone who succeeds in selling in the most difficult of situations has to be able to teach the rest of us something - people who, on the face of it, have a much easier job. The article I read gave a number of ideas, but one philosophy came through: people don't like to be sold anything, but they do like to buy. When this super salesman was introduced to someone new in a social situation, and the envitable question came up: "What do you do for a living?" he would reply: "I buy life assurance." This clearly puzzled most people, who said: "What do you mean, you buy life assurance?", to which he would reply: "I buy life assurance for my clients at the best possible price. Would you like me to buy some for you?" Can you imagine how much more effective this was than replying: "I'm a life insurance salesman," when the question was asked. Aside from the curiosity element of his reply, which is powerful in itself (and an excellent example of lateral thinking at its best), people are much more receptive to someone who is going to help them buy something than they are to someone who is going to try and sell them something. Almost everyone wants to be genuinely helped to buy the right product or service at the best possible price. Practically no-one wants to be sold something. There is an important lesson to be learned from this. Most businesses would benefit from a change in emphasis from 'selling' to genuine 'purchase assistance'. This means making a real effort to find out exactly what the customer needs, and making sure that they get it at the best possible price. In essence you are buying for your customer, rather than selling to him. The difference is subtle, but the end result almost certainly more profitable. One area where people are afraid of being sold to - and ripped-off in the process - is the purchase of advertising. There are many reputable companies and advertising agencies on the Internet, and there are many others who will do and say almost anything to make a sale. It's something of a minefield. Advertising companies enjoy a similiar reputation to life assurance salesman! What if you turned the situation on it's head. You're not an advertising agent. You 'buy the best quality and most suitable online advertising for your clients, at the best possible price'. Can you see how the situation has changed? Who would you rather deal with... an advertising salesman, or someone committed to assisting you in finding the right publicity outlets for your business at the best possible price? Wouldn't you want someone like that on your side the next time you plan what to do with your companies advertising budget? You can see the possibilites thrown up by changing the emphasis are truly exciting. Anyone can take advantage of them to boost profits in an existing business, or to use them as the cornerstone, and unique selling proposition, of a new one. LESLEY ANNE LOWE is publisher of Advance Consultancy News, a free email newsletter geared towards online business promotion, developing powerful marketing strategies and maximising online profits. For your free subscription email: news3@advance.to and the latest issue will be sent by return.
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