“I am the world’s worst salesman, therefore, I must make it easy for people to buy.”
– F. W. Woolworth (1852-1919), retailing icon
And, it really, to a great degree, is that simple. “Salesmanship,” in the traditional sense, is overrated.
You have to be able and ready to engage, and I’ve often said that selling is, by definition, an argument of sorts. But it doesn’t have to be contentious and full of quid-pro-quo bantering.
It’s about changing people’s minds – thus the argument comparison – and rather than dig in and fight the battle where the defenses are the strongest, the skilled salesperson (and my guess is that Woolworth was among them) figures out where his or her part of the argument has the best chance to be perceived well. They figure out how to make it easy to buy.
Difference makers are about change. The same principles apply as in selling. When we make it easy for someone to see a better way, well, that’s when we make the biggest difference.
Leave a Reply