Curiosity, Imagination, and Sales
Originally published at www.kennethkiwicz.com.
Recently, I had the pleasure of reading an article written by Brian Espy, founder of the Espy Search Group, titled “The best Salespeople I’ve ever met didn’t really try to sell.”
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/best-salespeople-ive-ever-met-didnt-really-try-sell-brian-espy
In his article he describes three characteristics of the best salespeople:
They all love to find problems and can’t wait to solve them.They all seemed to be more interested in others, than they were in themselves.They are really good at painting pictures for their audiences to marvel.
These characteristics remind me more of a scientist than a salesperson. What do scientists and the best salespeople have in common? Curiosity and imagination.
Some people are genuinely curious about other people. When these same individuals are interested in solving problems, it can be electric. They may even stay up all night wondering about problems and how they can solve them.
Satisfaction of one’s curiosity is one of the greatest sources of happiness in life. -Linus Pauling
Curiosity and imagination serve to enhance other skills such as initiative, entrepreneurialism, problem solving and critical thinking. When realized to their full potential individuals who possess these skills can really make a difference in an industry or even the world. Sales come easy when you really understand your customer and sincerely want to help find a solution.
Most sales representatives are knowledgeable of their companies’ solutions but do not fully understand them. They know that A leads to B but do not understand why A leads to B. Why can’t A lead to C? Only when the knowledgeable salesperson becomes curious can they fully understand.
The brain is like a muscle. When it is in use, we feel very good. Understanding is joyous. -Carl Sagan
Robert and John F Kennedy were both charismatic. This makes for a fine politician or salesperson. Both men paraphrased the following quote from George Bernard Shaw’s play Back to Methuselah while they were addressing the public on separate occasions:
“You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’”
Why not?!
