The unsell

To many professionals, selling is a dirty word. And that’s okay, because by not selling, even unselling, you end up selling more.

Example:

My hard drive just crashed on a laptop I’ve had since 2000. I went to the local computer repair shop to get a new hard drive for this laptop and to buy a long-overdue desktop.

On fixing the laptop, the computer salesperson said, “You know, if you don’t want to get the new desktop now, that’s okay.”

I poked some polite fun of him saying, “You have to be the worst salesperson I’ve ever met, offering to give up a $1,000 sale.”

He said, “Not at all. I only want you to buy something if you really want to. We don’t sell people things they don’t want or need.”

Of course I bought the system. Plus, I’ve already been back a few times to get some upgrades.

This salesperson has been extremely responsive, and quick to turn around any upgrades. And I now know he has my best interests in mind.

So it is okay, and even a good idea, not to sell, in case you were worried. So long as you ask good questions and deliver a solution to your customer, you will do fine.