Selling Has Evolved

Selling has been around as long as the human race. Selling has evolved and changed rapidly over the years and has reached a unique point, forcing sales professionals to adapt and change their approach to selling in order to stay ahead of the competition and meet the expectations of their customers.

Have you seen the movie Tin Men? Tin Men is a classic movie starring Danny Devito and Richard Dreyfuss that was released in 1987. The movie is focused around two aluminum siding salesmen. One of their sales tactics was staging a camera in front of a home without aluminum siding and taking pictures of the house. When the homeowner came outside to see what they were doing, they would explain they were working on a story about aluminum siding and needed some pictures of houses that didnt have siding so they could compare the look to those homes with aluminum siding. The homeowner would express their concern with being seen as the house without the siding and the salesmen would proceed to explain how they could get aluminum siding and potentially be featured in the magazine as a house with aluminum siding.

Of course this is extreme and comical, but this example illustrates how selling has evolved. Can you imagine looking out your window and seeing two strangers taking pictures of your house? When was the last time you saw a door-to-door salesperson? Today, people would simply call the police, never mind walking out to see what you were doing. Door to door sales is a thing of the past and has been long gone and ineffective for sometime now. It is still done in some forms, but has definitely been reduced to a select few. Again, its extreme but you get the idea.

How about companies who have call centers and make sales calls to consumers? There is a major change to the way you do business if I ever saw one. In 2003, a database was created for consumers to register their phone numbers on the Do Not Call List, preventing companies from making phone solicitations to their home. If a company calls a number liste5B4d in the Do Not Call database, they face steep fines and other repercussions. This is a major change to the way many companies sell and one of many reasons why companies and sales professionals need to find new ways to reach clients.

Email has become a new sales tool over the recent years and is being used in numerous aspects of the sales process. Similar to other laws preventing unwanted solicitations, there are strict guidelines for businesses that use email as a sales tool. Emails cannot be spam and must not be an unwanted solicitation to an unknown email address. We can all relate to the ridiculous amounts of spam we receive and understand how frustrating it is as a consumer. Aside from spam, email is an extremely effective sales tool and when incorporated into your sales activities can be a productive and efficient way to reach your customers.

Today, buyers are more educated than ever. The Internet has provided the opportunity for buyers of all types to gather information, research topics and learn about companies, products and services before they are even close to making a decision. This is extremely important for sales people to recognize as they establish contacts with potential customers.

Along with the different vehicles of communication changing in sales, sales skills have evolved and changed at a rapid pace. The days of high pressure sales, ineffective jargon and canned scripts is over. In todays sellin56Fg environment, sales people must continue to monitor and change their selling approach as the perceptions and experiences of their customers change. It is critical to recognize your approach to selling and understand how you may be perceived. If your approach is that of a high pressure, product focused, fast-talking sales person, your chances of success are slim. Happy selling!

Christopher Thompson is the Founder and President of Catch 22 Solutions, a sales performance consulting company and a former Director of Sales at PC Connection, Inc. For more information visit http://www.catch22solutions.com