I made a mention earlier about a salesman being a bridge between Demand and Supply. Let me expand this thought a little more today.A bridge connects 2 shores - in our case demand and supply.
A bridge allows flow of traffic in
both directions - In our case this means free flow of needs, wants and desires from demand in the direction of supply and information on products, services, technologies from supply to demand.A bridge has to make the otherwise arduous task of crossing the river seem easy. A good salesman will do the same by making the product or service look appealing to the customer. He has to make the process of buying the product or service very convenient. Both sides - the demand side and supply side should feel deep interest in crossing over to the other side.
With use, a bridge will begin to have potholes and make the journey more arduous, difficult and finally - uninviting. Regular maintenance work is required to keep the bridge smooth and pleasurable. A salesman too finds that with overuse, he begins to develop "fault lines". He needs to repair them with regular "new coats" of training and self development.
Most importantly, a bridge needs to be firmly anchored to both sides. Being anchored to only one side - either the supplier side or the customer side will not help. And there are FIVE foundations to ensure that this anchoring is strong - Self Esteem, Discipline, Ethics, Knowledge and Respect.
Before I close this thought, let me explain my viewpoint on the bridge angle here. When I first considered that my role was being a bridge and no more, it brought a lot more humilty to the otherwise overhyped "Sales" profession. It threw out all the assumptions of any fantastic ability to "convince" people to my point of view or be able to "push" through any order. It also helped me realize that a bridge cannot connect two dis-similar shores. Simply put, there is a product and then there is a market for that product. If I am able to find a suitable market for my product, then the sales process is easy and there is a real exchange of value for both sides.
When the customer is not suited to my product, that is the time when I need to "convince". But then at such times, it makes me think - Am I con-vincing or am I con-ning?
From those who have bothered to read through this blog, I would love to have an exchange of views on this last point.
Going forward, I will further present my thoughts on the above question and further develop the idea of finding a suitable bride for my product (the groom). I will also write separate blogs on the foundations of our bridge.
Please do write in your comments / thoughts, it will help me evolve as a better sales professional.
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With use, a bridge will begin to have potholes and make the journey more arduous, difficult and finally - uninviting. Regular maintenance work is required to keep the bridge smooth and pleasurable. A salesman too finds that with overuse, he begins to develop "fault lines". He needs to repair them with regular "new coats" of training and self development.
Most importantly, a bridge needs to be firmly anchored to both sides. Being anchored to only one side - either the supplier side or the customer side will not help. And there are FIVE foundations to ensure that this anchoring is strong - Self Esteem, Discipline, Ethics, Knowledge and Respect.
Before I close this thought, let me explain my viewpoint on the bridge angle here. When I first considered that my role was being a bridge and no more, it brought a lot more humilty to the otherwise overhyped "Sales" profession. It threw out all the assumptions of any fantastic ability to "convince" people to my point of view or be able to "push" through any order. It also helped me realize that a bridge cannot connect two dis-similar shores. Simply put, there is a product and then there is a market for that product. If I am able to find a suitable market for my product, then the sales process is easy and there is a real exchange of value for both sides.
When the customer is not suited to my product, that is the time when I need to "convince". But then at such times, it makes me think - Am I con-vincing or am I con-ning?
From those who have bothered to read through this blog, I would love to have an exchange of views on this last point.
Going forward, I will further present my thoughts on the above question and further develop the idea of finding a suitable bride for my product (the groom). I will also write separate blogs on the foundations of our bridge.
Please do write in your comments / thoughts, it will help me evolve as a better sales professional.
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