Do You Have To Be Liked as a Salesperson?

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I am a firm believer that good customer service starts way before your customer even makes a purchase. Customer service starts the second they walk through your showroom doors, or the second you walk into their office and reach out your hand for a handshake. Your customer’s experience with your company starts very early on and it is vital you make a very good impression from the get go.

Sales people up and down the country, and world-wide, have a reputation of being hard nosed, manipulative and deceitful. Is a true representation of every sales person you are going to meet? Perhaps not. But it is the stereotype that us sales professionals are tarred with. And it is an image I am trying damn hard to fix.

But do you have to be liked to be a successful sales person? Does it matter if the sales professionals you hire are liked by their customers? Or would you prefer them to just make you money and move on? Does it matter to you if you become friends with your customer? Or perhaps all you want to do it just make money on the sales you generate and move on to your next target?

Here’s the thing;

Those that are liked are always the most successful.

Go back to your days in school and think back to your PE lessons. Remember lining up against a wall and having two ‘team captains’ choose the teams they wanted to play football with? You would dread being the last one picked and had your fingers crossed that you would be one of the first picked. It was quite a cruel, but honest ranking system. Let’s face it, the majority of the people first picked may have had very little skill in the chosen sport, but they were well liked with their peers. They were well liked. The point I want to make early on in this article is that the most liked people are always those that are picked first, and fought over by their fans.

Let’s look at modern music. A pop-star can forge a great career stemming many years and have many adoring fans. Low and behold, after a short break, they come back and release a record that is just dire. You know, the kind of song that if you would have heard it at an open-mic night, you would cover your ears. But because it was sung by that music star, who is well liked, their fans get behind the song and sing its praises, no matter how appalling it is.

Or lets use one last example. You are presented with the chance of having an extension built on a property by five different bulding firms. All of them are the exact same price, will be completed to the same high quality, using the best available materials and will be completed all in the same time schedule. For all intents and purposes, you are looking at five clones, all offering the exact same service. Except, four of the five builders are rude, firm, cold, and brash. They have not asked you any questions about you, your personal life or made the effort to get to know you.  However, one is very friendly. He takes the time to talk to you. Takes the time to get to know your family. Even made you a cup of tea during the initial meeting. Gave you a free gift as a thank you for meeting with him and is a bloke that you can really talk to. Out of these five people; who would you want to give your business to?

Being friendly, and making an effort to be liked is one of the best things you can do to win business. We all like likeable people. Who likes to spend time with a hard-nosed bore?! Sure, being friendly does not mean you have to be a push over. You can still be friendly and be assertive at the same time. You can still ask for the sale. You can still earn a commission.

The difference is that being likeable will allow your customer the chance to be at ease around you and will be more open for conversations with you. Not only that, you have the chance to win repeat business, referrals and recommendations further down the line. If you have the arrogance to feel that you do not need to be liked to win the sale you are only going to offer a poor customer service from ground zero, and lose any chance of any sales whatsoever.

You will not be liked by every single prospect you come in to contact with; but you should make damn sure you try your very hardest to be liked. Otherwise, you are only going to sabotage your own, and your company’s success.

 

Paragon Sales Solutions are Leicester’s leading sales consultants, offering:

– Sales Contracts

– Sales Training

– Social Media Management

– B2B Telesales / Telemarketing

We cater for any size business, and what makes us stand out is that we truly care. Our services can be catered for your business and our sales professionals will work tirelessly to ensure your sales targets are met. Be sure to visit our website for more details on how our sales solutions can help your business. 

paragonsalessolutions.co.uk

 

 

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