Most of us wouldn’t think of selling as an art, but let me ask you something: Have you ever tried to ask or demand that someone do something for you? (If you are human, the answer is yes) Great, so in that case everyone has tried to sell at one point. If you want to be able to do the following things: ace a job interview, get your kids to do chores, ask that cute girl on a date, create business relationships, get into college, lead a sports team or any group, or give a speech of any kind; then you need to learn to sell. Now, it’s important to note that when we say selling, we mean it in a very positive way (many think of selling as something sneaky or deceptive) when in fact selling is what keeps the world turning. How did Donald Trump get elected? He portrayed (sold) his value as a president to the American people. How did the founders of Google and Facebook raise the money needed to start their life changing companies? They presented (sold) to venture capitalists their ideas. How did Jay Z sell millions of albums and make millions of dollars? Sales, album sales and ticket sales. Are we getting the picture?
What is the definition of selling?
Again, a lot of people think selling is something deceptive, and there certainly are deceptive salesmen, but in the majority of cases selling is one thing. Selling is the showing of mutually beneficial value through a transfer of feeling to another party. (My opinion based on research and experience) To use the Facebook example, Mark Zuckerburg knew that his platform had value and could help connect us all more effectively, and he was able to display that value to initial investors, and eventually to the entire globe. If he was not able to effectively communicate the value of something no one had ever seen before, then facebook would not exist today.
Why is selling important?
Selling is important because it is a very transferable skill that anyone looking to find success will need. As previously mentioned, even if you never plan to start a company, you’ll need to learn sales to interview for jobs, meet people, find dates etc. In summary, you must learn to display your value to the world. I should not even be giving this secret away for free, god dam!
How to sell
Okay, so you’re on board and realize selling is incredibly important. How to actually sell is a question likely on your mind. Now that we know sales is important how do we get started on the journey to becoming great at it. Well a great first step would be to read some of the top books on sales. However, take this step with a large caveat; you learn best by doing (everyone does), so read and then take action based on that reading. Otherwise, you’re reading will go to waste. Second, going to university and obtaining a job at a global company’s sales program will provide a lot of training. These companies already have products to sell, very effective training programs, and their establish brands will help you sell without too much effort. Last, a great way to learn to sell is to hit up a coffee shop and talk to as many people as you can. Get some phone numbers from those cute girls you like, and meet a few business associates as well. This will get you out of your comfort zone and teach you a thing or two about selling.
Third, good old trial and error selling your own services or products can also be very valuable. There you have it, nothing to it but to do, get started on selling today! You can thank me later.
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