4 ms·

Could you have just answered OP's question instead of telling them how wrong they are? From "Do sales people have something important other than their interpers

Could you have just answered OP's question instead of telling them how wrong they are? From "Do sales people have something important other than their interpersonal skills?" it seems clear to me they are hazy on the value of good sales personnel and want someone who knows to elucidate it.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
wott 10y ago
Did you ever witness a sales person answer the question you asked him? :-)
tormeh 10y ago
I can try: As far as I can see, a good sales person sees the needs of the customer and presents the product in such a way that it is clear to the customer that it will fulfill a need. Or, in other words, a B2B salesperson's job is to say "buying our product will offer a very good return on investment" in a way that sounds true to the customer. This requires some knowledge of the product, but it requires far more knowledge about the customer, their line of business, what people make purchasing decisions etc.
drakonandor 10y ago
Do women have something important other than their beauty? (sarcasm) Do I deserve an exact answer and not just a reply telling me how much of an idiot I am? Am I hazy on the value of women or am I just an idiot? The question was demeaning. He deserves to be told how wrong he is. You would be dis-servicing society by not telling him how wrong he is.
- 67726e 10y ago
  Sometimes folks say otherwise blunt, insulting things out of ignorance and not malice or spite. Take the charitable view and give them an honest answer to expand their worldview, don't shit on them. tl;dr don't be a dick.
- falloutx 10y ago
  I was actually looking for a sincere answer since I don't know a lot of about what sales people, and what they do. Sorry If I might have worded that in a wrong way.
  - Gustomaximus 10y ago
    I'll try to answer from my non-sales POV about what good sales people bring; - Existing relationships - the old 'who you know'. This can really be a game changer, or at the least speed things up. - Pricing expertise - sales should be financially savvy and work closely with finance to work out what is the most profitable products they can sell, how they can add/reduce for greater over profit or for leaders how to best stimulate sales teams. - Product knowledge from the field - The can be a great source of feedback. A good sales person will separate what matters at the core vs why the latest client didn't buy. - Business knowledge and lateral thinking - so many sales turn up and pitch what expect to sell. Really good sales people get to a business and offer solutions. The need to understand your business fast. When I'm on the customer side I find this most important. You quickly know the people that are trying to sell a product vs those with businesses savvy looking where their solutions can benefit your outcomes. Often they will find new ways to utilise their product to offer benefits. - Internal fixer/project manager: for many products the person selling hands deliver off to another team. The better ones ensure your happy ongoing and make sure any down the line problems get resolved internally even when they get involved outside of their sales area and have to become temporary project managers etc. Off the top of my head that's the other value add. Interpersonal is important but is a smaller component than most people give it credit for with the 'fast talking' sale image that is often displayed.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

wott 10y ago

Did you ever witness a sales person answer the question you asked him? :-)

tormeh 10y ago

I can try: As far as I can see, a good sales person sees the needs of the customer and presents the product in such a way that it is clear to the customer that it will fulfill a need. Or, in other words, a B2B salesperson's job is to say "buying our product will offer a very good return on investment" in a way that sounds true to the customer. This requires some knowledge of the product, but it requires far more knowledge about the customer, their line of business, what people make purchasing decisions etc.

drakonandor 10y ago

Do women have something important other than their beauty? (sarcasm) Do I deserve an exact answer and not just a reply telling me how much of an idiot I am? Am I hazy on the value of women or am I just an idiot? The question was demeaning. He deserves to be told how wrong he is. You would be dis-servicing society by not telling him how wrong he is.

67726e 10y ago
Sometimes folks say otherwise blunt, insulting things out of ignorance and not malice or spite. Take the charitable view and give them an honest answer to expand their worldview, don't shit on them. tl;dr don't be a dick.
falloutx 10y ago
I was actually looking for a sincere answer since I don't know a lot of about what sales people, and what they do. Sorry If I might have worded that in a wrong way.
- Gustomaximus 10y ago
  I'll try to answer from my non-sales POV about what good sales people bring; - Existing relationships - the old 'who you know'. This can really be a game changer, or at the least speed things up. - Pricing expertise - sales should be financially savvy and work closely with finance to work out what is the most profitable products they can sell, how they can add/reduce for greater over profit or for leaders how to best stimulate sales teams. - Product knowledge from the field - The can be a great source of feedback. A good sales person will separate what matters at the core vs why the latest client didn't buy. - Business knowledge and lateral thinking - so many sales turn up and pitch what expect to sell. Really good sales people get to a business and offer solutions. The need to understand your business fast. When I'm on the customer side I find this most important. You quickly know the people that are trying to sell a product vs those with businesses savvy looking where their solutions can benefit your outcomes. Often they will find new ways to utilise their product to offer benefits. - Internal fixer/project manager: for many products the person selling hands deliver off to another team. The better ones ensure your happy ongoing and make sure any down the line problems get resolved internally even when they get involved outside of their sales area and have to become temporary project managers etc. Off the top of my head that's the other value add. Interpersonal is important but is a smaller component than most people give it credit for with the 'fast talking' sale image that is often displayed.