Well, I have been in the field of sales all of my adult life. In fact, I can even say that sales has been a big part of my life till now. I have been taught by some of the best people in the field. I have also been taught by some of the worst people you could imagine and over the course of my career I still remember what my very first manager told me as he was teaching me the art of sales. It has stuck with me all these years and it has proven to be true time and time again. It is simple and easy to remember.
He told me ''Sales is 01 percent knowledge and 99 percent bull.'' While that might seem a little odd at first glance, if you look at it and give it some thought I think you'll agree. I have always found it true up till now.
A good salesman can sell anything. Electronics, cars, even cow manure without knowing a whole lot about the product. That is because all it really takes is a basic knowledge of the item you are selling. Most people will actually sell themselves if you let them. It is not about what you are selling, it is HOW you talk to other people and convince them to buy the product.
You have to be a great listener. This is where the PR skills come in. As they are talking you need to cue in on the points that are the hot buttons for them and play to those points. If they are really hot for something and you can play that up then it is as good as sold. You don't tell lies to them you just listen and let the customer close himself.
The real part of the Public Relations comes in selling yourself to the customer. As long as you can make the customer believe that you are the sales person and you know what they need and that you know the product. You can sell them anything. People like to buy from people they trust and from a friend. If you can turn that into the advantage then you are going to be a phenomenal sales person and it all begins with doing the PR of promoting yourself, your skills and lastly the product.
People don't buy products from stores they buy them from people and as long as you can convince them that you are the person that they need to deal with then you have done your PR job correctly and you will have started building your customer base.
