I GET THAT QUESTION all the time.
“Was it the sale with the biggest price tag?” No.
“Was it the sale in which you made the biggest commission?” Nope.
“Was it your very first sale?” It wasn’t.
“Was it the sale when you were so broke and needed a sale desperately?” Heck, no.
“Was it the sale you overcame the most objections?” Nah.
“Was it the easiest sale?” No way, Jose.
“Was it the sale in which the customer referred you to another customer?” No, although that’s always appreciated!
“Was it the time you sold the most amount of ‘widgets’?” No, no, no.
“Was it the sale that put you ahead as ‘salesperson of the year’ that time?” Not even close.
“Is it when you make the sale on a cold call?” No, sorry, it’s not.
“Is it the sale you’ve made after trying for a very long time to sell them?” Again, no.
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“Was it the sale when you oversold a customer?” Never happened.
“Was it the sale when you truly met the customer’s needs?” YES!!!
“Ah, finally. Okay, which sale was that?” All of them!
Get it, folks? That’s what selling is all about: meeting and satisfying the customers need(s). Helping the customer acquire what they need to overcome their specific challenges and for it to be beneficial to them.
So, if that’s what true selling is about, they’re all my best sale! Does that make sense? I sure hope so.
I don’t care how much money I make on the sale. I don’t care what the price tag is. I don’t care how many “units” I sell them. I don’t care if I sell them after meeting with them only once or meeting with them several times before they buy. I don’t care if I get accolades from others on closing a sale. If Jimmy cracked corn, guess what? I don’t care.
Here’s what I care about in a sales scenario (and, in my opinion, so should you): I care about whether or not I can help someone with the products and/or services I provide.
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I either can or I can’t.
If I can and I close the sale, wonderful. Wonderful for them and wonderful for me, because there is tremendous satisfaction in helping someone and getting paid for it.
If I can’t, that’s okay. My product or service doesn’t meet their needs. Nothing I can do about that. Doesn’t make them bad or evil, it doesn’t make me bad or evil. The round peg isn’t bad and the square hole isn’t evil. It’s just not a fit. Pretty simple, yes?
If I can meet someone’s needs but cannot close the sale because of any number of variables that cannot be overcome at the time (personalities, shipping, price, policies, etc.), I don’t get emotional about it. I will stay in touch with them and ask, from time to time, if anything has changed? Why? Because I saw the potential in being able to help them. Who would walk away from something like that?
So, let me ask you: What’s the best sale you ever made?