Don't confuse order-taking with selling

Some people who say they are ‘in sales’ are actually ‘in order-taking’; they never sell anything – they simply hope their customer will buy.

Order-taking is like turning up and asking a question that translates to “Is there anything you want today?” (The customer says “No thanks”; the order-taker says, turning to leave, “OK, that’s fine, see you in two weeks”.) Selling is about doing some preparation, thinking about the customer and having an idea/offer in mind.

The conversation can start the same way. The salesperson says, “Is there any thing you want today?” The customer says “No thanks”. Instead of turning to leave the salesperson says, “OK, that’s fine – however, before I go can I show an idea/offer we have going regarding …”

This creates an opportunity for the salesperson to move into selling mode.

Like so many other tips in selling, this is not rocket science. But it works.


(The up-coming post for Friday 20/3 is Customers are people first; customers second. It's a reminder to work with the person first to be successful in any sales situation.)