“He or she is such a good sales person they could sell ice to the Eskimos!”
This is a common sales myth. No doubt you will have heard it – I have seen it – on TV, in newspapers, by Business people and entrepreneurs … “He or she is such a good sales person they could sell ice to the Eskimos!” Often people even say it as a compliment.
Well I think this is ridiculous … and I will explain why.
Let’s think about this intelligently, just for a moment. I’m selling to the Eskimos. I go along to the Eskimos and I try and sell them some ice. They already have a LOT of ice . So, the chance of selling to them is pretty small. Let’s assume that I do manage to sell them some ice, then the profit margin is probably going to be fairly small as they don’t really value the ice.
What is more interesting is when we think about what happens the following year when I need to sell more ice to the Eskimo. I knock on his door again to sell his more ice – and the Eskimo will not be very happy. They will say hey I have enough ice! You sold me loads last year and I still have loads left.
Surely if they were such a good salesperson they would have sold ice to people in a hot climate who might want ice!
You might be able to “persuade” the Eskimo to buy some ice but only if you use manipulative tactics. And these tactics definitely work – but how often do they work on the same person? Yes that’s right – Once!
Manipulative tactics only work ONCE on the same person.
Because afterwards they realise they have bought something they don’t want or paid too much for. They get “buyer’s remorse” – they regret making the purchase.
Selling should be easy so let’s target those companies and those people who are most likely to want what we have. Professional sales is not about forcing or persuading someone to buy. It is about helping the customer to buy the right solution for them.
Stop selling ice to Eskimos! Start targetting people who are most likely to want what you have.
Let Marlow Sales Academy help you to target the right companies, and the right people in those companies, who are more likely to want what you have.
I hope you found this useful. Good Luck and I’m off for a coffee!