People.
Hey there. I wanna chat with you about not being in sales. You say, wait a second. This is called signature selling. How can you be talking about not being in sales?
Kenneth Holden:We're in sales, but that sometimes is the wrong terminology. So I'm a salesperson, but I don't wanna think of myself as a salesperson. I wanna think of myself as a person who's going to help a person find a product or service that's going to solve a problem for that person. It's not about the sale, it's about helping a person. It's not I'm going to make a sale, I'm going to help a person.
Kenneth Holden:And so sometimes in business, we forget that business is not about products and services, it's about people. So people own businesses, a person or a group of people or many people, but businesses are owned by people, and people make the products and services. They think of the ideas, they design the ideas, they manufacture the ideas, they create the systems, but it's people who create the product and services and it is people who buy the product and services. So the common theme in business is it really isn't about the product or service that the business is selling. That's what gives them distinction and personality and differentiation and demarcation from other companies and businesses.
Kenneth Holden:But at the end of the day, it's really about people who own, people who create products and services, people who distribute products and services, which is sales, and then you have, people who buy the products and services. And so we have a tendency to really get caught up in making a sale rather than helping a person. If you shift your psychology away from I'm in sales and I'm going to make a sale to I'm going to help a person, you're gonna have a very different level of sincerity that's gonna flow out of you towards the person that is buying and they're going to know that there's a different level of sincerity about you. And it's really important to do that, and so stop thinking I'm a salesperson even though you are and start thinking of actually helping people but the more I'm in sales 24 years you've got to be really thinking not just about who you are that you're a person helping a person versus a salesperson making a sale you have to start thinking about the impact what you're doing is going to have on someone. Now, again, I'm not talking about selling candy.
Kenneth Holden:I'm not talking about all those types of things, although they have the same basic principles. Again, we're talking about things of value, real estate, vehicles, life insurance, RESPs, all the different types of sales, vehicle sales that that are expensive, long term, contractual, things that it's not like candy where you're gonna buy it and eat it and never buy it again and it's inexpensive. We're talking about things of value that are long term or contractual and so those type of sales. Again, I the the spectrum that I'm thinking about are financial advisors, people in multilevel marketing, people who are in car sales, real estate, RESP sales, life insurance sales, these types of industries. What impact are you having?
Kenneth Holden:So rather than thinking I'm gonna sell a house, think think about what impact is this house gonna make in that family's life. If you sell life insurance, not thinking about, oh, I'm gonna make a life insurance sale. Think about what impact visualize it. What impact will this insurance product have on this family in the event of an emergency or something, god forbid, unforeseen happens? What impact will it make?
Kenneth Holden:What difference will it make? If you sell a registered education savings plan, what a wonderful thing to sell. Think about that for a second. Don't think about I'm gonna make a sale. Think about what impact is this gonna have 17 years, 15 years down the road when that child's ready to go to post secondary education and the funding is there to fund that child's dream?
Kenneth Holden:Just think about the impact, the doors that are going to open, how it's gonna change that family. So often we get caught up in the sale or the mechanics of a sale or I made a sale. And rather than thinking about the impact I made, the difference I made. And if we start to think deeply about the impact we're making, it's going to have a very different feel to everything we're doing with people who are coming to see us. We're gonna be thinking about the people.
Kenneth Holden:What do the people need? Not what do I want to sell, which I was sharing, I believe, last week, but what do the people wanna buy? What do the people need? They might actually come in wanting to buy something. And as you do a needs analysis or you begin to get their profile and understand them, do you realize that the thing that they wanted to buy is not the thing that they actually need?
Kenneth Holden:And maybe you actually lower the size of the sale in order to meet the customers need, and you're actually doing them a favor by doing that. So rather than being just focused on getting the best commission, you're trying to get the best product or service for the customer. What if would happen? What what would happen if you actually ended up saying, hey. You don't really need to spend that much money.
Kenneth Holden:Here's what I think you need, and it's a lot cheaper. That person is going to trust you forever. They're gonna tell their friends. They're gonna have the water cooler conversations. They're gonna have tremendous respect for you.
Kenneth Holden:They're gonna leave you a great review. And imagine if you duplicate that with every single person that you make. You sell them what they need. Now sometimes what they need is more expensive than what they wanna buy. Absolutely.
Kenneth Holden:So the upsell is okay provided it's what the customer needs. But in sales, we think I'm gonna upsell that person. You shouldn't be thinking that way. You should be thinking what does the customer need? What do they wanna buy?
Kenneth Holden:What is their profile? What are their values? What are they looking for? And what should be sold to them? What about this situation that you have something to sell them, but what it is, it ends up not being what they need and you don't sell what they need.
Kenneth Holden:What should you do? You should recommend that they go get what they need somewhere else. Now think about this. You might lose that sale, but that person is gonna forever trust you and pass your name to their friends and family, and you will get other sales. You have to be passionately committed to making sure you're doing what's in the best interest of the customer not thinking like I'm gonna make a sale.
Kenneth Holden:Sure, we use technique, sure we train on technique and there are techniques but it always has to be done for the best interest of the customer. So start thinking about the impact I'm gonna have. What is it that the customer needs? Stop thinking of yourself as a salesperson making a sale or getting a close, because we use all that terminology, and there's nothing wrong with that. But stop thinking that way when you're with a customer.
Kenneth Holden:I'm a person helping a person buy a product or service. And so when you start to actually think in that particular direction, everything begins to change in your sales process. People begin to trust you more. They'll give you referrals more. You're gonna sleep better at night.
Kenneth Holden:Everything about what you're doing, instantly becomes better. So who are you? You're a person who helps people find solutions to problems, and hopefully, it's your product or service. Don't be thinking about what do I want to sell, but what is it that the customer wants to buy and better yet, what is it that the customer actually needs? Think about the impact the product or service is going to have.
Kenneth Holden:It's important to visualize that. It's important to see the outcome of what you're doing and try to understand the impact so that you will have more confidence about what you're actually selling, and people will sense your sincerity. They will sense that you are genuine. They will sell that you're genuinely interested in helping them find a solution. And you know what?
Kenneth Holden:I don't know anybody who doesn't wanna work with someone like that. So not just what is the product or service, of course, it has to be top quartile, has to be a high quality product, a high quality service. Of course, if you're gonna be in sales, you have to make sure whatever you're selling, product or service or whatever it might be, has to be top quartile. It has to be in that top percentage in order to resonate with customers and to offer something legitimate out to the marketplace. You don't wanna work for someone with a poor quality product or poor quality service because you're fundamentally not operating in the best interest of the customer.
Kenneth Holden:And if you are working somewhere where it's not the top quality, you should put pressure on the organization to make their product and service better. That company will probably value you as well because you care about the long term nature of the company. So when you're in sales, but it's more about helping people and you go to the deeper issues of impact, where things are going, what customers need, the best interest of the customer, when you start to operate this way and a company starts to operate this way and everything is about people, not products and services, it's all about people. When it becomes like that, it becomes trans for transformational to an organization, but it also becomes transformational to you. And so think about this.
Kenneth Holden:Again, this is just a short podcast this week, but give it some thought. How can I make an impact? How can I make a difference? What does a customer need? Am I being genuine and honest in the entire process?
Kenneth Holden:Am I doing what's in the best interest of the customer? You will be a very high performing salesperson if you are always putting people first. Remember, before I leave here today, companies are owned by people, and people make products and services, and they make those products for people that buy those products or services. But the common theme in everything we do, no matter where you go, what you do, your family, your friends, your neighborhood, everything is about people and so is business. When businesses forget that it's about people, both the people who own, the people who work in the organization and the people who buy.
Kenneth Holden:When people forget that and they become focused just on business and products and services, I think they lose something when they do that. So you can be different. You can be high level. You can be that person who's passionate about people because at the end of the day, life is about people.
