The Art Of Sales

Having been in sales and customer service since my teenage years I've developed a different way of thinking when it comes to sales and marketing. To me it is an art and each sales person or marketing specialist has their own style. Sometimes though it is hard to find what works for us or what really gets the job done. Like all good artists there is a necessity to refine even the simplest brush stroke or way of blending colors. In the sales world our brush strokes are our foundation of knowledge, be it about our product or the markets we sell to. The blending of colors is how we use our knowledge of the world to bring out a contrast that aids our appearance and ability to sell. Beyond those two things there are other things we share in common with our artistic friends:

• Motivation from within ourselves or inspiration from around ourselves. Either way works and each person has one or the other, or sometimes both. These are the ways our experience and knowledge flow onto the canvas or into the sale.
• Often times an artist, sculptor or musician rely upon their instincts to bring together a masterful work of art praised and sought after by everyone. We as sales people do the same to sell our product. As people are drawn to their work so too are people drawn to our product.
• Being able to look outside of yourself is key to both an artist and sales person. The ability to enhance or accept another perspective creates things.
• Self doubt is something we all share but in the world of art and sales it can be a frightful thing. Often times driving the person away from their calling or destroying the link from their instincts to their approach.

Developing your own artistic sales approach is really a study into yourself. I've expressed before in a hub about how to be a good sales person, that we need to learn to sell ourselves. An artist goes about this by selling themselves through their work, it does the talking for them. How do we become like the artist or musician who expresses themselves so vividly without words. We look at how they put themselves into their work. Their way of expressing a part of who they are through what they create is the key. In sales we can do this a couple different ways:

• Believe in your product, use your product, understand your product, be your product. Never sell something you would not use or buy and wouldn't let your family use or buy.
• Be yourself, change what you don't like and enhance what you love. You have to be comfortable with yourself if your going to sell yourself
• Have confidence and humility, this is what you do and your good at it. If you believe you did a good job then you did. Be open to suggestion too because it only serves to increase your ability.
• Use your view to connect to other views as well. We are all connected in this world but sometimes we need to look for the connection. Learn to use your view and be open so you can find those connections. Everyone sees something differently, but it doesn't mean we can't all understand it.

I mentioned before how important it is to learn to sell ourselves. How exactly we go about that is easy. The following are a few exercises on how to learn about ourselves in a relatively short time:

• Write down a list of ways you would describe yourself. Now take that list to a few people who really know you and see which ones they would agree with or disagree with. Also ask them to add any they think should be on the list. Talk to 2 or 3 of these people. Now try and find someone who has recently met you or is just getting to know you. Ask them their opinion on this list. After your all done take the things that were most agreed upon and write them on a separate list. This is the list that describes you the best because the most people agreed on it. If you don't agree with anything on the list then you need to look at those statements and try and understand why people see you that way. Now you know your internal view, an external view and an initial view of yourself.
• Make another list of things you like or are interested in. Include on the list areas you are knowledgeable in or things you have experience with. Also write down anything that gives you credibility like certifications, degrees or awards. This is a good overview of what you know and why you know it, also what you like to learn and how you learn it. Use this to broaden your horizons and also to connect with those around you. Take this list to someone else you know and find ways to connect their interests with something on your list so you can have a conversation about it. Or find a way to relate something on your list to something that would be on their list.

Those two exercises help us become more aware of where our strengths and weakness are. They also help us understand ourselves better in relation to others. Connecting with a client is a very important thing to do. Taking those lists and using them to find ways to connect with people will aid your art of sales immensely. Along with this it will give us things to fall back on when we need to stay positive. Negativity will not help you in this world and staying positive is the only way to combat that. Sometimes we need to look back at our foundation in order to build a new beacon of hope. Bringing all these things together will help us sell ourselves which in turns helps us sell our product. I want to help my client and those around me because by helping them I create a better situation for everyone. Learning how to get them to trust me and allow me to do this for them requires me to first know myself. Look inside yourselves and around yourselves and learn to paint an honest and enticing image of yourself. Like those beautiful paintings, sculptures, and pieces of music people will flock to it and keep coming back to it.