Am I Selling or Are You Buying?

A friend of mine, who is Senior IT Executive in Mexico City, wrote me recently asking the age-old question, do salespeople and marketers sell or do customers buy?
We’ve asked this question to hundreds of sales people around the globe and here’s the consensus:

  1. Nobody likes to be sold anything and most everyone loves to buy stuff,
  2. When we are being sold something, our defenses are up and we typically experience some degree of buyer’s remorse after we make the purchase,
  3. BUT buying something is a real treat–everyone loves getting new stuff, having the latest gadget!
  4. If the buyer feels in control and co-develops the solution with the seller — chances of sales success skyrocket.

WHAT’S THE BIG TAKEAWAY?

…Give your PowerPoint presentations a rest and pick up a dry erase marker. Stop presenting and start co-creating. Sketch out your offer/project/idea with the person considering it.

Death-by-PowerPoint-is out.

Co-creation is in!

-Jeff