Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2005-11-01 11:01:12 - Graham Ellis
"We're looking for salesmen and not technical types / geeks". So said the advert in the entrance to the large store I visited with Lisa last night ... where their main business is computers, computer-based products and supplies. It added "We can teach you what you need to know about our products to sell them".
I'm technical / I'm a bit of a geek. And I've done a bit of selling too. I prefer to sell from a position of technical knowledge, and I prefer to be able to speak to the sales staff in stores at a level where they can answer my questions on both the product and the commercial aspects (like "how much?" and "is it in stock?").
The store we were in last night is the same one that I tell a story about on some of our courses ... I went into there (a number of years back now) and picked up a Linux distribution software package and walked over to the laptop display. "Will this work on this laptop?" I asked the three staff who approached me. "Yes" said the first. "No" said the second, and "I don't know" said the third. The third got the highest rating from me ... for his honesty. I went home to research the true answer online!
OK ... we don't employ a salesperson here, and I would never wish to have anyone who wasn't very familiar indeed with our courses and subjects doing that selling. I wouldn't take on a salesman who didn't even have a grounding in the things he would be selling. But I also appreciate the need for a professional sales approach which I hope we give ... and for sure, that does mean than many geeks might not be suitable.