Guide to Selling To and Managing People

An old boss of mine, an inveterate salesman, used to say, "Show me a good manager and I'll show you a good salesperson."
Then he'd say, "There's two kinds of people. The kind who want to get ahead and the kind that want to hang onto what they've got."
Now you've probably heard that sort of "two kinds of people" before. Katie Curic says there are those who rinse their dishes before putting them in the dishwasher and those who don't. But that's a pointless distinction that's only good if you don't want dried bits of egg on your plate.
My old boss' two-kinds-of-folks really works. Look around your workplace. Think of people you've known. Think of yourself. If you are here reading this, you want more out of your career and you are in the first camp.
You are easy to sell to. If I were to show you how my product could get you a promotion, you'd take it. The same for you selling to me. I buy the fanciest computer and cell phone because I think it will help me get work done faster and on to the next big thing.
Most people are trying to hang onto what they already have at work. They got where they are (and aren't entirely sure how) and want to work quietly, and go home at the end of the day to their family, go bowling with their friends, or, like a man I knew, get a haircut every Tuesday.
To sell to this second group you have to take the opposite approach. What looks like a promotion to the go-getter looks a job-eraser to them. If you press how much your product will improve the company, they will fear for their jobs. Instead, show how the product helps lock in their fiefdom or helps them keep a lock on some valuable information. (How many people keep their jobs by knowing something others don't?)
So to sell well, you need to understand people's motivations. And then align your offering with them.
And, well, what's a great manager but someone who knows what people want and can align the interests of the firm with those desires?




Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Listen and repeat. If you repeat what a customer says back to them, they will know you are listening, and the sale will be smoother. A good salesperson is, first and foremost, a good listener.