Mention the word "sales" to anyone you know, in your personal life or your professional life, and you'll likely generate a visceral reaction that is immediately evident in the expression on their face. There are a few professions that have earned their reputations well...sales being on the top of most people's list. A few recent interactions on the customer side of the equation has certainly increased my empathy for customers of every shape and size. More than that, it has given me a renewed vigor to do my part to reform the negative perceptions so companies would seem to want to earn with their sales efforts.
I'm going to start this with a bit broader definition, that being the best definition of marketing that I've ever heard:
"Marketing is the identification and satisfaction of a given need of
a given customer at a given point in time"
If this is marketing then what is selling? Selling is actually an element of that process, whereby the need and the solution are aligned...ideally in an optimal fashion...essentially the satisfaction of that need. In broader terms:
"Selling is SOLVING PROBLEMS"
One of the more apt quips from the Sandler Selling System is that "people buy for their reasons, not our reasons". Think about that for a minute... Whether you buy a pack of mints, a car or a piece of equipment, you're trying to satisfy a need, e.g solve a problem. It seems so simple, yet there are those times where the process seems to go awry and we end up disappointed...or worse, reputations and/or relationships are irreparably damaged.
Let's face it, we all have our list of companies that we will NEVER do business with again, EVER! My list includes American Airlines, ZoomInfo and General Motors (sadly, there are others). As I recall how each of these companies made it onto "the list", I'm left shaking my head because seemingly their intent was to keep me from ever buying from them again. Those are stories for another day...
You also have the issue of competing agendas...each side seeking the greatest advantage in the transaction, often at the expense of the other. Walmart is famous for tactics that ensure that most of their suppliers make only enough money to avoid going out of business...every penny but your very last penny they will find a way to take. Ask someone that sells to Walmart and they will tell you "I have to sell to Walmart, but every day I wonder if it's worth it...".
The result of these dynamics is ultimately a lose-lose:
At the end of the day there is no such thing as a "win-lose"....there is only "win-win" or "lost-lose". Again, think of Walmart...the only people that want to do business with Walmart have never experienced doing business with Walmart.
Paraphrasing Zig Ziglar - "if you want to achieve your dreams, start by helping others to achieve theirs...". It may seem like so much common sense, but so much gets in the way, almost none of it being necessary. We set up so many policies and procedures, budgetary guidelines, organizational structures all in the name of "taking care of our customers", yet so many companies fail so miserably. It can be attributed to many things, but it generally comes down to a few simple facts.
No two customers are alike, even though they may be similar. Consequently, what will satisfy them is likely to be as different as they are from the next. Similarly, no two employees are alike so no playbook will be 100% effective for everyone in every situation. Yes, we have to have policies and procedures to ensure that the company makes money while remaining consistent for all stakeholders. However, if we don't find a way to delight every customer and "solve their problems" we'll eventually have no customers to worry about.