There is an old joke that asks: Why did they name the game
“golf”?
Because all of the other four letter words were taken.
If you listen to a frustrated golfer, there are other words
they use to express their emotions that could have been used as the game’s name.
Rarely does a golfer miss a putt and yell, “Golf!”
Similarly, while called “sales people,” the reality is that the
best of us don’t actually think of what we do as “selling.” The concept of
“selling” has with it a connotation of convincing someone to buy something they
don’t really need. Yes, someone may be successful at that, once, but the
purchaser will soon realize they don’t need it and won’t work with that
salesperson again.
For me, the goal is not to “sell” to a client, but to turn
the client into a “buyer” of my firm’s services once they recognize the value
of the solution we are proposing. That requires more than “selling.” I have to
ask questions, listen, understand the nuances of the client’s challenges (maybe
even more than they do themselves), make suggestions and listen some more. When
I suggest a potential path forward, I want the client to trust me that I will
do all I can to make them successful in this engagement so they ask for my
help. They become a buyer.
Though “sales” may not be the ideal word for what so many of
us do, I guess, like golf, we’re stuck with the word. It would be difficult and
confusing, instead of telling people I am in “sales,” to say I am in “buys.”
