ARE YOU A SERVICE CLERK OR A SALES PERSON???
The speaker argues against the idea that modern sales should focus on being service-oriented, claiming that true sales professionals must push back on clients and guide them to the right solutions. They distinguish between sales roles that require challenging clients and service roles that simply accommodate client requests.
Summary
The speaker begins by criticizing a post from a sales expert who claimed that modern selling is about service rather than traditional selling techniques. The speaker strongly disagrees with this approach, arguing that if someone wants to be service-oriented and do whatever clients want, they should work in customer success instead of sales. The core argument is that sales professionals have a responsibility to do what's right for the client, which sometimes means doing 'the hard stuff' and pushing back on client requests. The speaker emphasizes that clients are not experts in the salesperson's product category, spending only seconds or maybe a minute researching before making decisions based on superficial factors like website aesthetics. They argue there's no correlation between having the prettiest website and being the best solution for a client's needs. The speaker concludes by warning that being a 'service clerk' in sales ultimately backfires because when clients get the wrong solution, they blame the salesperson who sold it to them, not themselves for choosing it.
About this episode
https://www.b2bRevenue.com - Brutal Truth About Sales & Selling Podcast Selling in a New Market Space: http://www.amazon.com/Selling-New-Market-Space-ebook/dp/B002V3RWZA FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Maverick-Method/234345506651411 WEBSITE: https://www.B2Brevenue.com LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianburns TWITTER: briangburnsb2b EMAIL: [email protected] - Sales mistakes and the top mistakes that many salespeople make. We all make mistakes but if we learn from those mistakes we will grow as salespeople. Thank you for watching my sales and selling videos. Please check my other videos on my channel. I have several on a wide array of sales and selling topics. They include "sales strategies" "sales prospecting" "lead generation" "b2b sales" "b2b sales selling". Regardless of your selling approach be it "spin selling", "snap selling", "solution selling" "strategic selling" or "customer centric selling". You will found several videos on all of these topics the simple sale, complex sale, sales training, sales workshops, sales closing, challenger sales and selling. We will also cover large sales, sales blog, cold calling, every major sales skill, sales techniques, sales jobs, motivation, b2b sales and selling. We provide highly customized training for all levels of skill. Please contact us with any questions.
Key Insights
- The speaker argues that sales professionals must do what's right for clients rather than what clients want, which requires pushing back and doing 'the hard stuff'
- The speaker claims clients spend only seconds or maybe a minute researching products and make decisions based on superficial factors like the prettiest website
- The speaker warns that when clients get the wrong solution, they blame the salesperson who sold it to them rather than taking responsibility for their own choice
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] I was watching this post by a so-called sales expert last week and they were saying the new sale is about service, not selling. You don't have to sell. You just have to be very serviceoriented. No, you don't. We're in sales. If you want to be a service clerk, get into customer success. There you can do whatever the client wants you to do. In sales, we got to do what's right for the client. We got to do the hard stuff. We [0:31] got to push back sometimes. We really have to help them through the process. They don't know what they're doing. How could they? How much time do they spend researching your particular category and…
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ARE YOU A SERVICE CLERK OR A SALES PERSON???
The speaker compares learning sales to learning to drive, arguing that following natural instincts in sales makes you act like a service clerk rather than an effective salesperson. They emphasize that successful selling requires working against intuitive responses and learning specific techniques from more effective salespeople.
SALES VS. FINANCE - WHO IS RIGHT???
A satirical conversation depicting the tension between sales and finance teams during the deal booking process. The sales representative expresses frustration with bureaucratic requirements while trying to close a deal with the US government.
YOU MAY KNOW HOW TO SELL - BUT THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO BUY
A sales rep learned from a successful colleague that customers don't inherently know how to make purchasing decisions. The key insight was that instead of asking customers what they want to do next, successful salespeople assertively guide the decision-making process.
ANYONE CAN BE BUSY BUT FEW CAN SELL - WHICH ARE YOU???
The speaker argues that modern sales reps mistake busyness for productivity, engaging in high activity without focusing deeply on accounts. They advocate for a proven process that requires time investment but delivers actual results rather than just the appearance of effort.
SALES MATH IS BS - MATH IS FACTS NOT OPINIONS
A sales leader discusses how traditional win rate calculations are fundamentally flawed because they rely on subjective definitions of what constitutes a 'loss.' The speaker argues that focusing on revenue growth and deal winnability is more productive than manipulating win rate metrics.