1.6.2011

43 Truths About the Death of Selling.

Sales is dying.

The job of professional selling is going away.

It’s dead. It’s over. Seller’s need to find something else to do.It’s been a great journey.

Like the candle-maker, the gas station attendant, and the soda fountain mixer — they all had their Golden Days. But eventually, time made the job irrelevant.

In every case, invention, social awareness, and cultural expectations pushed us collectively in a different direction.

That time is fast approaching for sellers.

The craft is dead.

Don’t believe me?

Here are 43 randomly eclectic truths about selling in today’s marketplace.

We (all) hate con men
Advertising is sexier than pitching
Empathy matters
Buyers don’t like being in the sales funnel
Friends are more expert than sellers
Social buying peer pressure exists
Buyers don’t want features
Seller’s sell features
The hard sale is abusive
Selfishness is self-limiting
Information is free
The trend to automation is making the people role irrelevant
Buyers want to chose on their terms
Sellers want less choice
Internet commodity pricing is pretty persuasive
Kindness is a lost art.
The buyer’s point-of-view matters
Sellers want a 7-step process over really caring
Email communication is overused (and abused)
There isn’t enough differentiation
Our email messages are required to have an “opt out”
Sales people are tired of old calling
“Better” isn’t really clear
Cultural shifts toward openness democratize rapport-building as a craft
Buyers expect better service
Companies try to explain away poor service
Congress has to regulate telemarketers
Sellers aren’t grateful
Buyers don’t want to meet with sellers
Desperate financial times force buyer curiosity
Companies expect bad people to be good sales reps
Sellers copy rather than improve what they admire
Google is faster (and less threatening) than the Yellow Pages
Access to opinions is ubiquitous
Facebook and Twitter are more coercive
Sales competition is based on price rather than leadership
Sellers aren’t having the right conversations
Buyers want clarification not information
We’re (all) more distracted than we used to be
Digital persuasion trumps direct pitching
Seller’s misuse of communication builds distrust
Buyers want less pressure when they’re “thinking about it”
Most buyers don’t like most sellers.

Do you disagree?

But, there’s another perspective.

Selling, like any other commodity task of the past, will still be a valuable skill for craftsman.

Why?

They aren’t superficial.

They aren’t swept up in the social demands and pressures that strangle progress and generate distracting hysteria.

They are masters of a craft.

And that mastery is always in demand.

So you have a decision.

Are you going to be a craftsman?

Or are you going to start looking for another profession.

The world of “trigger events” and “30 seconds to rapport” is ending.

It’s over…

All the manipulation we have been engendering is fast approaching a crash course with reality.

Time to face the facts.

Selling is dead.

Maybe it’s time for you to do something else.

Like mastering kindness and practicing outrageous acts of empathy.

That’s a craft that will never die…

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Sjmilgram

What a pointless silly argument
Sjmilgram

What a pointless silly argument
- http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt
  
  Steve,
  
  Good point. It might seem obvious (and perhaps silly), but many of the organizations struggling to generate new revenue find themselves running around acting sales hasn’t evolved.
  
  If you do “get it”, and wonder why people are still acting they way they do, this whole reminder seems unnecessary.
  
  Good perspective.
  
  Dan
  
  p.s. Thanks for stopping by.
Hmerkle

Yes Dan,
There are still glass blowers, woodworkers, wood turners and knitters, just fewer of them but the ones that are there (not hobbyists) are masters of their art or master craftspeople!
As always, well said!
Hmerkle

Yes Dan,
There are still glass blowers, woodworkers, wood turners and knitters, just fewer of them but the ones that are there (not hobbyists) are masters of their art or master craftspeople!
As always, well said!
- http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt
  
  Hank,
  
  Pretty cool how that works, right?
  
  Dan
http://twitter.com/adonrigg Adon Rigg

I agree.
I have just written a book addressing this very issue. (with editor) The solution is to create value using the S.a.l.e.s Formula ™ (www.salesformula.tv) STUDY- the prospects industry, Company, and contact before you make your first call. ASK- GO questions goals and operations to better understand their business. LEARN how you can impact their Income Statement ( Internal and external pressures )Expose the issues to the prospect and once they recognize and ask for your assistance the. Solve – Present a solution
Study, AsK, Learn, Expose, Solve

That is the S.a.l.e.s Formula ™ for effective selling in the 21st century.The alternative is to be a commodity provider.
http://twitter.com/adonrigg Adon Rigg

I agree.
I have just written a book addressing this very issue. (with editor) The solution is to create value using the S.a.l.e.s Formula ™ (www.salesformula.tv) STUDY- the prospects industry, Company, and contact before you make your first call. ASK- GO questions goals and operations to better understand their business. LEARN how you can impact their Income Statement ( Internal and external pressures )Expose the issues to the prospect and once they recognize and ask for your assistance the. Solve – Present a solution
Study, AsK, Learn, Expose, Solve

That is the S.a.l.e.s Formula ™ for effective selling in the 21st century.The alternative is to be a commodity provider.
- http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt
  
  Adon,
  
  I look forward to getting my hands on your book. Seems like you are to something pretty amazing. However we position ourselves, the end result is the same — buyers don’t want schmucks pitching products at them.
  
  Dan
ccelli73

Whatever happened to customer service? I would like to see that come back. Pleasing the customers should be the main differentiator.
- http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt
  
  That’s right.
  
  Customer service, outrageous customer service in fact, is a huge differentiator.
  
  Thanks for sharing.
  
  Dan
ccelli73

Whatever happened to customer service? I would like to see that come back. Pleasing the customers should be the main differentiator.
http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

Hank,

Pretty cool how that works, right?

Dan
http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

Adon,

I look forward to getting my hands on your book. Seems like you are to something pretty amazing. However we position ourselves, the end result is the same — buyers don’t want schmucks pitching products at them.

Dan
http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

That’s right.

Customer service, outrageous customer service in fact, is a huge differentiator.

Thanks for sharing.

Dan
http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

Steve,

Good point. It might seem obvious (and perhaps silly), but many of the organizations struggling to generate new revenue find themselves running around acting sales hasn’t evolved.

If you do “get it”, and wonder why people are still acting they way they do, this whole reminder seems unnecessary.

Good perspective.

Dan

p.s. Thanks for stopping by.
wethe20%

Catchy title here, but true professional salespeople already know all of this, and that’s part of what makes them true professionals.
- http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt
  
  Fred,
  
  You nailed it. Professionals act a different way.
  
  It does need to be said though. Many times we act like this is commonly understood — and it’s not.
  
  Dan
wethe20%

Catchy title here, but true professional salespeople already know all of this, and that’s part of what makes them true professionals.
http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

Fred,

You nailed it. Professionals act a different way.

It does need to be said though. Many times we act like this is commonly understood — and it’s not.

Dan
Ed Crego

Dan I will agree that there are many that sell for a living that are con men, but to say salesman equals con man is slanderous. True professionals are in this for the long haul. You can fool (con) someone once, but if you are looking for long term success you build relationships built on trust. I think what is changing is how we get to potential customers. Interruption marketing is fast going away. Over 80% of business people surveyed said they do not like cold calling salesmen. What we must learn is attraction marketing. People still want to buy, they just hate to be sold. We must learn how to attract those who have a problem our product can solve. We then must educate them. If our product truly is their solution, they will naturally and willing choose us and our product.
- http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt
  
  Ed,
  
  I hope I did not imply that all sales people are con men.
  
  I merely stated the fact that buyers dislike con men. (Which I am sure you agree with)
  
  As I look at the confluence of time, market behaviors, and sale process limitations, I have to think that digital persuasion is a lot more attraction than selling “as usual”.
  
  I found it really hard to disagree with these (43) “facts”. I put them together over 6-7 weeks of thought and as they hit my mind I added them to the list. When I got done and scanned it, I was shocked at the conclusion I was looking at.
  
  Attraction marketing is all about attitudes and not actions, by the way.
  
  Dan
  
  p.s. Not trying to focus on semantics for the sake of controversy. We need to think about these things a little more.
Ed Crego

Dan I will agree that there are many that sell for a living that are con men, but to say salesman equals con man is slanderous. True professionals are in this for the long haul. You can fool (con) someone once, but if you are looking for long term success you build relationships built on trust. I think what is changing is how we get to potential customers. Interruption marketing is fast going away. Over 80% of business people surveyed said they do not like cold calling salesmen. What we must learn is attraction marketing. People still want to buy, they just hate to be sold. We must learn how to attract those who have a problem our product can solve. We then must educate them. If our product truly is their solution, they will naturally and willing choose us and our product.
http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

Ed,

I hope I did not imply that all sales people are con men.

I merely stated the fact that buyers dislike con men. (Which I am sure you agree with)

As I look at the confluence of time, market behaviors, and sale process limitations, I have to think that digital persuasion is a lot more attraction than selling “as usual”.

I found it really hard to disagree with these (43) “facts”. I put them together over 6-7 weeks of thought and as they hit my mind I added them to the list. When I got done and scanned it, I was shocked at the conclusion I was looking at.

Attraction marketing is all about attitudes and not actions, by the way.

Dan

p.s. Not trying to focus on semantics for the sake of controversy. We need to think about these things a little more.
http://www.Squidoo.com/NoTwitter Asia

I would have liked this article better if it was written as a ‘positive’ instead of a ‘negative’. It spends a page and a half pissing on sales and about 2 sentences on how to improve the situation. And those 2 sentences are so vague that you have to read it several times before you even have a chance of ‘getting it’.

Before you dig a grave for ‘selling’ we have to agree on it’s definition, and how many of us do the negative things you describe. We all hate the “hard close”. But even if you are a ‘consultative salesperson’ or a ‘rapport building leader’ or a ‘finder of solutions’…you are still selling. I dont care what you call it.

It’s time for consultants and web-based businesses to stop calling for the death of cold-calling and the death of selling and just agree that anyone who is trying to build a client base and increase revenue is “selling”. It’s not dying, and it will be here long after we are all dead and gone…
- http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt
  
  Type your reply…
- http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt
  
  Asia,
  
  I thought a while about your insight into this being a negative article. That’s not my intent. While I appreciate you thoughtfulness that we need to be more inspiring and positive, we do need look within ourselves and demand something better.
  
  I don’t know if my “sugar coating” the current selling environment makes it any different. It’s our poor attitudes and selfish tactics that have caused this predicament.
  
  We need a “shock” to our senses. We need to shape up.
  
  Dan
  
  p.s. I’m killing a bunch of my own bad behaviors. I don’t care necessarily “what” you do, I just don’t like the attitudes of selfish behavior.
http://www.Squidoo.com/NoTwitter Asia

I would have liked this article better if it was written as a ‘positive’ instead of a ‘negative’. It spends a page and a half pissing on sales and about 2 sentences on how to improve the situation. And those 2 sentences are so vague that you have to read it several times before you even have a chance of ‘getting it’.

Before you dig a grave for ‘selling’ we have to agree on it’s definition, and how many of us do the negative things you describe. We all hate the “hard close”. But even if you are a ‘consultative salesperson’ or a ‘rapport building leader’ or a ‘finder of solutions’…you are still selling. I dont care what you call it.

It’s time for consultants and web-based businesses to stop calling for the death of cold-calling and the death of selling and just agree that anyone who is trying to build a client base and increase revenue is “selling”. It’s not dying, and it will be here long after we are all dead and gone…
http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

Type your reply…
http://www.DanWaldschmidt.com/ Dan Waldschmidt

Asia,

I thought a while about your insight into this being a negative article. That’s not my intent. While I appreciate you thoughtfulness that we need to be more inspiring and positive, we do need look within ourselves and demand something better.

I don’t know if my “sugar coating” the current selling environment makes it any different. It’s our poor attitudes and selfish tactics that have caused this predicament.

We need a “shock” to our senses. We need to shape up.

Dan

p.s. I’m killing a bunch of my own bad behaviors. I don’t care necessarily “what” you do, I just don’t like the attitudes of selfish behavior.
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