Chapter 3:

Selling Makes the World Go Round!

Have you heard the term ‘nothing happens until a sale is made’? Sales pay the wages for the person filing papers, the human resource managers, the warehouse workers, the marketing department, the technology staff, the drivers, the janitors, etc. The revenue generated by sales is the primary reason for a company’s success, so the more sales generated, the more jobs are created. Sales of products or services pay for the rent, the utilities, the health insurance, the office supplies and everything else. When sales go up, companies do well. When sales go down, recessions occur. Selling makes the world go round! Nothing happens until a sale is made.

That being said, there are different types of sales. All selling does not require the same level of commitment, expertise or sophistication, and all selling does not mandate a degree of relationship or trust. If you are selling a commodity or consumer product like a cell phone, there is very little interaction between the buyer and the seller. However, if you are selling a service like financial planning or accounting, it is imperative that you have great relationships with people.

In fact, there are the five different levels of sales: order taker, product-driven sales, needs-driven sales, consultative and collaborative. The first two require very little relationship, and the focus should be on marketing and making the product as unique and desirable as possible. The last three fall into the professional sales realm and require a certain level of relationship and business development.

Order taker – A salesperson who fills a request or order of goods or commodities but does not make attempts to increase frequency of orders or to find new customers. There is no requirement for any type of relationship in this sales level as long as the client has a relationship with the product. Example: waiter, fast food cashier, department store employee.

Product-driven sales – A salesperson whose focus is based on a particular product or set of products. Their sales success is purely based on the desire or demand of the product being sold. Example: cell phone store employee, car dealership, etc.

Needs-driven sales – A salesperson whose job is to discover and fulfill a need either immediately or on an ongoing basis. Their success is based on matching a need with a solution. Example: banker, insurance salesperson.

Consultative – This is a deep form of sales. Consultative selling involves engagement and interaction around a client’s core need. The goal is to identify the specific underlying need and form the advice or solution around that need. This requires a form of questioning centered on peeling through the initial issue or problem to discover that underlying need. Example: financial planner, attorney or CPA.

Collaborative – Collaborative sales is working with clients jointly to identify needs, evalua