What Are Ya Sellin'?

"Every one lives by selling something". ~ Robert Louis Stevenson.

Any one who has ever sold anything knows what I'm talking about. It's the first thing that pops into every prospects mind. Whether they say it out loud or think it - The words are drowning out every other thought they have of entertaining your warm and fuzzy "relationship", "questions" and "solution" based chats. We were hoping for an opening and they went straight to the close. "What Are Ya Sellin'?" is a challenge, a test and a defense all rolled into one. So how do we respond? We've all run across the old curmudgeons, the acerbic ogres, who put up a huge barrier to test our resolve. They mainly want to see what we've got. They want to get to the bottom line of "our value to them" as quickly as possible and get rid of the riff raff just as quickly. So what do we do? ~ A lot of people will tell you that we need to know about the prospect first and that is very true. But before we go there we really need to know two things about ourselves ~ We need to know

• Who We Are.

• What We've Got.

When someone asks a salesperson "What Are Ya Sellin'?" Our response tends to fall into one of three categories - We Run, Defer or Answer. The way we respond answers a lot about who we are.

Run ~ (Preferred by Qualifiers and / or Cowards) ~ Whether we view challenge as a dis-qualifier or a fight to avoid we can run.

Defer ~ (Preferred by Comedians, Intellectuals, Friends & the Curious) We can amuse, entertain, enlighten, educate or simply ask questions to defer answering immediately. We can try to build and open a rapport with some type of like-able common ground before we move forward. The vast majority of sales people choose these approaches.

Answer ~ (Preferred by Direct Alphas) This may well be the toughest trait to master. We really need to know who we are and what we've got. It better be really valuable, different, evident and of interest to ~ Well ~ To the person who is thinking and saying "What Are Ya Sellin'?"

Whichever category we fall into at some time we will need to address the "What Are Ya Sellin'?" and then we should be crystal clear on who we are and what we've got. Before we ask anything of others, personally and product wise, we need to know what we've got to offer.

Do You Know What You're Selling? Think you know what you've got? Write it on a post it note in ten words or less. Write down what you've got & what your product and solutions have got. "What's Your Value?"

Can't do it? ~ Then you've got nothing.