The term “salesman” had gotten a bad rap in modern times. Even within organizations, some employees feel uncomfortable dealing with or working with vendors. Personally, I have been involved with companies where salespeople were generally viewed as overpaid at best, and in some cases devious and deceitful.

But when you think about it carefully, you can’t kill sales. It is the soul of a business. Having great products, great service, or great marketing is essential in today’s business climate. But it is useless if nobody sells anything. A large American IT company used to have an internal slogan “Nothing really happens until someone sells something.”

So why does sales get such a bad rap?

As usual, most business problems are people problems. Most people can spot a ‘salesperson’ a mile away. But what this statement doesn’t really say is that most people can spot a ‘bad salesperson’ from a mile away.

So what is it about a bad salesperson that generates so much derision? Why do people avoid ‘bad salespeople’? I think it has to do with a major problem and it has to do with broken promises. I know this sounds like I’m talking about topics that belong more in the schoolyard than in business, but I think these lessons are critical. It really boils down to this:

Trust!

Trust is a tricky thing. It can take a long time to build trust and a second to destroy it. If you don’t trust someone, you should avoid dealing with that person. If you don’t trust someone, you are always looking for ways to mitigate the risk of working with that person. You are careful not to be deceived, cheated or betrayed.

So how does a seller stand out as someone special? If the seller manages to be perceived as a Trusted Advisor. Because a seller who is a Trusted Advisor transcends the ‘seller’ label. That person becomes someone not avoided, but someone people look to for advice. How does a seller become a trusted advisor?

subsell.

Simple, right? Yes, simple in theory, not so simple in practice.

In the heat of the moment, when competing to win business, many sellers get a little desperate or a little excited and oversell. This can help get the business, but it sets up an interesting scenario. When you oversell, the consequence is that you set your delivery team up for trouble. They inevitably deliver less. This causes a chain reaction and then the customer or customer is justifiably unhappy if you don’t deliver what the salesperson says you will. This causes dissatisfaction issues where the customer may want remedies. They may want you to replace the product or do the job over again. Which costs more money and consumes more resources. Even worse things can happen if things are not resolved satisfactorily. There may be legal implications. This can happen if sellers oversell. Overselling is not a way to build a long-lasting, satisfied customer base.

Chances are high that through overselling you could get a deal and never sell to that customer again.

Let’s see what happens when sellers sell less.

First of all, their behavior is different. They generally don’t make big claims or exaggerate aspects of their solution. They seem more cautious and calm about the actual claims they make. They may even acknowledge certain minor drawbacks of their solutions and mention any cautionary notices so that the customer can be made aware of these warnings. This makes these salespeople more professional in looking at customer problems and recommending solutions. Please note that I am not advocating salespeople acting timid or nervous or lacking in confidence or being reluctant to point out their value propositions. The salesperson can still ask powerful questions and try to get to the real issues. It’s just that there’s a less boastful element to your selling.

The customer also feels less pressure is applied and more diligence is applied to find solutions. In fact, the customer feels really cared for, an important element in building trust.

So if the customer agreed to buy this solution, everyone knows all the details of the solution. ‘Eyes wide open’ as they say.

The consequence of this is that the delivery of the product or solution is more in line with the expectations established during the sales cycles. There are few (if any) surprises for the customer and if something is discovered that went unaddressed during the sales cycle, both parties can work together to resolve it.

In short, a much more pleasant experience.

The promises that are made have been fulfilled. Children understand this, adults ignore it at their peril.