Sales 101

A Girl Can Dream

The concept of sales fascinates me. I bring this up because I recently had a discussion with Buckaroo about what he can do to get a job at the golf course when he is old enough to work. I have pointed out that in order to make this happen, he will want to look the part every time he goes to hit a bucket of balls. So, wear the collared shirt. Say hello. Be respectful. Essentially, walk the walk, talk the talk.

This is true in every aspect of life. Sales gurus (especially the real estate ones) point out how every time someone mentions real estate to me, I should take that as they are interested in purchasing or selling. Maybe not right away, but some time, some where. Most people actually start their real estate transaction about a year before they sign on the dotted line.

But real estate isn't the only sales vocation around. I have been paying closer attention to this lately and found a few times where perhaps a sales person might have had better success.

• There's the food server who doesn't fill up the drinks or fails to check in to see how one's meal is going. 
• There is the jewelry store owner in Malibu who told me what I am looking for in a sapphire and gold ring isn't a unicorn, but instead just tacky and "nobody" wants that. 
• There is the skin care sales girl (and I do mean "girl") on Rodeo Drive who walked up to me and said, "Can I ask you something? What do you do for those wrinkles under your eyes." (I forgot to chamber my "bless your heart." Dang! Always reload, folks!). 
• There's the loan officer who, after I sat four seats down from her last week at the Chicken Sandwiches with Perfect Strangers event, and did not talk to her ONCE, who sent me a friend request on Facebook. 
• There's the mechanic who barks at the customer because they didn't bring their car when they first heard the noise and "next time" they ought to pay attention.
• There's the handyman who doesn't read the visual cues and continues to rant to the homeowner about the shoddy workmanship of the house they are quoting on. 
• There's the driving school receptionist who answers with grunts or one word answers, if the caller is lucky, instead of actually explaining her employer's product and why one would want to hire them to teach a child to drive. 
• There's the tenant who wants a rental property but decides to insult the landlord's home with the "this is wrong," or "I don't like that over there and I need you to..." before the application is completed. Tenants, by the way, sell themselves to the landlord. But that's for another blog.

And the list goes on. 

It astounds me that car sales people get a bad rap when it is the customer who seeks them out. I am not agreeing to how a car dealership handles the entire buying process, but just the initial "hello, can I help you?" welcome. The sales team is just doing their job. They want to know if the client wants to browse by themselves or if they want assistance. If they are doing it right, they have listened to the customer and done what was asked of them.

Overall, everything one does is a function of sales in one way or another. I have personally missed a cue or two and realized later that person wanted to hire me to help them with a sale. That experience, coupled with many like the above list have hopefully made me better at what I do.