What the Best Sales People Sell

I’ve been saying in posts throughout this blog that business is about relationships. Harry Beckwith in his book What Clients Love: A Field Guide to Growing Your Business has this to say about sales:
“What the best sales people sell in order:

1. Themselves,
2. Their company,
3. Their service or product, and last
4. Their price.

What do ordinary salespeople sell?

1. Their price,
2. Their service or product,
3. Their company, and last
4. Themselves.”

That is, they focus on the relationship to build trust and a desire for the client to have an experience with your firm. They then sell the company, to let the client know they can trust that they’ll get what they need. Next they sell the service to let the client know that the service provided matches their need. And last, they sell the price. The price has to be in line; but, it is often not the most important factor. If it is, then perhaps the client does not value adequately the service, the company, or your relationship. Experience indicates that this client will be much more difficult to satisfy and will likely not be loyal to the next transaction. Build relationships. Build a great company. Have a great service. Lastly, provide a price that matches the value of the service and the relationship.