An Open And Shut Case

Alec Baldwin’s explosive rant in Glengarry Glen Ross (here) is responsible for many people’s misperceptions of salespeople.
Not least the salespeople themselves.
Say “A.B.C.” to a sales professional and chances are, they’ll chant “Always be closing” back at you. It’s become something of a sales legend now, that all energy should be focused on closing that deal.
I have a real problem with this language.
Why is a sale something to be dealt with, closed, shut down, finished.
I suppose it’s fine if you want to make a quick buck and move on, but our world is a little more complicated than that.
As I’ve said before, sales are all about relationships. They’re ongoing, long-lasting and, if they’re going to work, require regular nurturing.
This article from Marketing Wizdom (here) talks about persistence in closing the sale, and I can’t disagree with the thinking, at least in terms of tenacity and commitment.
Yes we know during the sales process you have to make a move and ask for the business but let’s try something radical.
Lets’ start seeing sales as something you open rather than close.
Because that’s the best route into a long-term relationship.

Sales You Gotta Love It

I remember an old joke about the 1992 fire at Windsor Castle.


Apparently, the damage could have been minimised, but for the fact that the Queen made her way along the line of fire-fighters, asking each one in turn “And what do you do?”
That joke is going to kill on my comedy tour.

Hang on though, I’m going somewhere with this. If I were to take a leaf out of Ma'am’s book and do the royal tour of my offices, asking people that same question, I don’t think a single person would answer “I work in sales.”
But here’s the funny thing.

Everyone at Jack Morton does, and the thing is, they’re really good at it.
I firmly believe that nothing happens anywhere in the world without sales.

The artist displaying her canvas (or dirty bed sheets); the man who checks himself twice in the mirror before that blind date; the politician who stands in front of 200 million people on Election Day. They’re all looking to persuade people to buy or accept something. Look it up in a dictionary – that’s what sales means.

Everything that we make, create, share or find needs to be sold. So the sooner we accept that, the sooner we can embrace it.
Sales isn’t a dirty word.

And it’s not a career option for people incapable of doing anything else. We’re all in it. We all do it. And we should take pride in being good at it.

See the world through the prism of sales, and take advantage of the countless opportunities around you.