Sell Don't Tell

"Everyone lives by selling something" - Robert Louis
Stevenson


I'll always remember the first sales course I ever attended
and the definition of selling that was drummed into my
brain.

"Selling is the art of creating a desire in the mind of a
buyer and satisfying that desire so that buyer and seller
benefit."

Now that may seem a bit old fashioned for many of today's
salespeople and this isn't an article about selling, but I
believe the principle still holds true.

If you want to get one of your team to do something, then
you need to communicate your instructions to them. Of course
you could just 'tell' them to do what ever it is you want,
and lots of managers do just that. However that's not what
being a Motivational Manager is all about and 'telling' just
makes your job a lot harder.

There's sometimes a case for 'telling' however it's harder
work for you because no one will continue to do what you
want unless you keep telling them.
Your team members are your 'internal customers' and you need
them to 'buy' from you in order to get the job done. And in
order to get them to buy; you need to be a good sales
person. I'm sure you've heard the phrase - you need to get
peoples 'buy in.'

You also need good sales and persuasion skills when you're
dealing with your colleagues and even your boss.

Now you've no doubt noticed that I've started to talk about
sales people and buyers. It's because I believe that we're
all sales people and buyers from the moment we enter this
world till the moment we leave it.

A baby crying for food, attention or a change of nappy is
trying to persuade you to take action. If you don't respond
to this initial 'request' then they step up the volume until
you do. Because we love that child, because we care, we are
very open to their persuasion. So, it follows throughout our
life; if people care about us, if they respect us, if they
have good rapport with us, then they're more likely to
respond to our persuasion.

The sales or persuasion process is very much part of our
world, and it's far better to sell than to tell.
A manager will get much further with the people who work for
him or her by selling rather than telling. If people
understand the benefits for them, then they're more likely
to respond in a positive manner to those who supervise them.

In any sales or persuasion situation, you should be looking
for a 'win-win' outcome. This is when you obviously benefit
as much as the other person. If this isn't the case and it's
a 'win-lose' situation, then instead of the words selling or
persuasion, we may be talking about manipulation, control or
coercion. However, as any good salesperson or negotiator
knows, a 'win-win' outcome is what you should always be
aiming for. It follows, that if you want one of your team to
do something and they see a benefit for them or they're just
happy to do it, then you have a 'win-win' situation.

"You can get everything you want in life if you just help
enough other people to get what they want" - Zig Ziglar

So whether we like it or not, selling and persuasion is
going on all the time and you need to utilise these skills
if you are to be a successful Motivational Manager.

Alan Fairweather, 'The Motivation Doctor,' is an
International Speaker, Author and Sales Growth Expert.
For the past fifteen years, he's been turning 'adequate' Managers, Sales and Customer Service people into consistent top performers.

He is the author of - 'How to be a Motivational Manager'
A down-to-earth guide for Managers and Team Leaders.
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