I suggest that most successful people, in any field, are the best sales people. If you are in business and are naïve enough or perhaps too overconfident to think that you do not need to become better at sales and marketing, I respectively suggest that you are mistaken.
Regrettably, far too many people think of “selling” as a slick used-car salesperson who hustles people into buying something they do not want, or the pushy, fast-talking peddler who closes folks without them knowing what happened, or that aggressive telemarketer who calls us during dinner to sell Japanese steak knives.
We need to get over the perception that there is a conflict between professionalism and sales or marketing. In other words, selling does not have to be about trickery or dishonest behavior. I submit that we be mindful of the words of authors Bob Burg and John David Mann in their brilliant book “Go-Givers Sell More” – “Selling is giving; giving your 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.”
Sales and marketing should have nothing to do with shenanigans, but everything to do with the value and genuine concern that we have for our customers or prospects. For this reason, alone, I am such a stout advocate that every high school and college student should be required to take courses in communications and salesmanship, as the primary lessons that we are taught in school are not the things that carry us through life. Moreover, I have often wondered why schools do not expose teenagers and college-bound students to self-help books regarding sales and marketing.
Nevertheless, smart selling is about help, not hype. Allow me to leave you with this final thought: Selfish intentions are the problem, not the act of selling. The simplest way to selling success is to be honest, keep promises, be loyal and have integrity. ’Nuff said. Cheers!
Harry Pappas Jr., CFP®
Managing Director-Investments
Certified Estate and Trust Specialist™
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®
Pappas Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors
818 A1A N, Ste. 200
Ponte Vedra, Florida 32082
904-273-7955
harry.pappas@wellsfargoadvisors.com
The use of the CDFA™ designation does not permit Wells Fargo Advisors or its Financial Advisors to provide legal advice, nor is it meant to imply that the firm or its associates are acting as experts in this field.
Wells Fargo Advisors LLC, Member SIPC, is a Registered Broker-Dealer and a separate non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.
The opinions expressed in this report are those of the author(s) and are subject to change. The material has been prepared or is distributed solely for information purposes and is not a solicitation or an offer to buy any security or instrument or to participate in any trading strategy.
