We Are All in the People Business

by WILLIAM SHORTALL

In Grant Cardone book ‘Sell or be Sold’ chapter eight is called ‘You Are In The People Business’ and he is right of course we all are, even if you don’t appreciate it. A great salesperson must be able to read the customer or prospect in fact Grant says its eighty: twenty; selling to the person is eighty percent about that person and twenty percent about the product hence people will buy an unsuitable product that does not meet the actual need of that person but fulfills the psychological need of the person, that gives the reward endorphin's of the brain, the feel good factor, they may crave. How many times have you seen or watched a programme were people have bought an item then never worn that item, it’s still in new condition in the closet or a book they never actually finish or even read, it just gathers dust on the shelf?

To close a sale as Grant says you have to hit the right button, so people will buy the wrong product or lower quality product just for the convenience factor, so it’s important to comprehend this and put it in action, by asking the right questions and understanding their needs.

Grant says that people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.

People are interested in their needs and wants and that of their family above all else, in fact Grant says ninety percent of salespeople do not listen or even find out through selective questioning ( in order to help the customer not manipulate them) what the customer wants, together with information ( which can be turned in to action) and effective communication, is paramount to closing the sale.

Grant sum’s up this chapter with a fundamental rule:

People Are Senior to Products (Critical for Executives)

Products don’t buy products (least not yet anyway) it is people who do, you have to turn the sale into a close, in the action of payment for your goods or service, or signature for the product and or service. As through out the book Grant ask’s questions, to make sure you comprehend the basic principles explained in the chapter. it’s not a novel.

I would suggest reading no more than one chapter a day, and re-reading that chapter, again on the same day, if you can, then recalling ( it’s the faster way to learn and transfer from short term memory to long term memory) the chapter by re-writing the core principles out from your memory, in a notebook just for this book and doing this with every chapter.

Yes it may take twenty three days but a little everyday, is better than all at once, as your brain needs time to consolidate each chapter, through memory recall and sleep. Even when you have finished the book, you should re-read it after three months and re-read your note book too, that you wrote in your own words, to lay down long term memory of the book in your brain.

Sell or be Sold is an outstanding book on sales, business, and life, I will return to it, again, going through particular chapters at my website: Top 100 Business Books, this book made it into my top ten in at book four.

You can buy the book “Sell or Be Sold” here for the UK only.