Geek Selling

Selling for geeks is known to be one of the most difficult tasks for them.  But why is it so difficult?  Selling involves being able to communicate well with others and requires the ability to make people feel comfortable with you when you try to sell something.  This is where the fan hits the roof for geeks.  Because we geeks are bad at communication.  We do not like to make situations personal and make people feel good.  Because let’s be honest, if I were to be selling a product that has a few faults, i’d be the one to point out that those flaws exist.  This is why geeks can’t sell.  Sometimes it involves trickery and lying in order to get your product or whatever it is thats being sold sold!

But in our little world we can’t live a normal life without being able to sell ourselves.  Especially when looking for a job.  Without being able to sell yourself to your employers it is going to be increasingly difficult to get a job anywhere!  For geeks, our fear of being rejected is something that haunts our conscious every day.  This is why we feel we can’t talk to girls or share things personal.  But we must look past this fear and continue on to try and sell.  The worst that can happen is they say no.  That is when you get up and try try again.  It is a mere fact called Law of Averages that states the more you try the more you succeed.  But in order to do this you have to be prepared for rejection.  Not everyone wants you.  Its just a matter of finding the people that do.

7 Steps to Selling
– from steadysales.com

1. Product Knowledge – The technical expert turned sales person is so eager to explain how the product works or why it’s unique that the benefits to the customer are left out of the discussion. Never assume that a prospect will easily link a feature to a benefit.

2. Prospecting – The key to prospecting effectively is knowing where to dig and what to look for.

3. The Approach – A good approach is crucial to sales success because it will either identify you as a bothersome salesperson and cause a prospect’s guard to go up, or it will identify you as an obliging salesperson with something of value to offer.

4. The Needs Assessment – To be a highly effective salesperson, that is to sell to the prospect’s needs, you first have to understand what those needs are. This means you must think in terms of solving a prospects problem.

5. The Presentation – If you consider your product/service in terms of how it benefits the customer, your presentation will be a focused and relevant dialogue rather than a self aggrandizing monologue.

6. The Close – Closing is about advancing the sales process to ultimately get an order.

7. Follow-Up – Staying at the forefront of a prospect’s mind requires persistence and should not be confused with being bothersome. This is why it’s important to get agreement on some next step each time there is contact.

Here is a video from the real Wolf of Wall Street in an interview of how to sell a pen.

https://youtu.be/n9iebhjtTYw

To conclude this blog I want to share a quote from one of the the world’s greatest businessmen who founded the retail chain J. C. Penney.

“Salesmanship is limitless. Our very living is selling. We are all salespeople.” – James Cash Penney