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What kind of person do you picture when you hear the word “sales?”
There are several stereotypes you could draw from. Are you picturing someone selling reams of paper over the phone in a Pennsylvania office? Or are you picturing a fast-talking finance crook with no rules (other than closing at all costs), a nice car, and a drug addiction?
Unfortunately, thanks to provocative blockbusters like The Wolf of Wallstreet, I think most of us picture the latter. And it’s probably what your owner-client prospects picture as well.
If you didn’t know, The Wolf of Wallstreet is based on a real person named Jordan Belfort, who embodies the sleazy salesman stereotype. He was convicted of securities fraud and money laundering in 1999 and sentenced to four years in prison. He was also ordered to pay back $110.4 million to investors (equivalent to ~$214 million today).
Credit: Vanity Fair. Posed here is the real Jordan Belfort with a real wolf! This picture signed by Martin Scorsese and Leonardo De Caprio sold at a Miami art fair for $200,000.
Bad actors like Belfort are the reason sales needs a rebrand. Their overuse of high-pressure and dishonest tactics have trained us all to be at least a little skeptical of anyone with something to sell. They’ve created a layer of distrust and suspicion all sales people have to break through in order to get a sliver of your attention. This is bad for the good salespeople. And it’s really bad for the consumer.
Sales is not about persuasion
Contrary to common belief, sales is not about persuasion. Some people can be talked into buying a product they don’t want, need, or understand. But that’s the unlikely exception, and as we see from Belfort’s story, it isn’t a viable long-term strategy.
Good sales is about discovery. Good sales people are experts at finding prospects who already need their product. Their focus is building a relationship so that they can better understand how they can help. In this approach, persuasion, relentless promotion, and shady tactics aren’t needed. As long as there is a genuine need, the right solution will sell itself. But this is hard to accomplish thanks to the layer of distrust.
If every company took the discovery approach, we would all love sales people because they’d make it so much easier to find the solutions to our problems. It would rebrand the entire sales profession from “fraudulent,” to “friendly.”
About Blanket
Blanket is transforming the property management industry with its innovative platform that helps property managers grow their portfolios and retain owners. By combining AI-powered insights, automated lead generation, and seamless integration with existing property management software, Blanket provides property managers with the tools they need to succeed. Blanket is backed by leading Venture Capital Funds like Foundation Capital, Symbol, Operator Partners, RE Angels, and industry-leading Angel investors. Together, we’re shaping the future of property management.
