Why Everybody In Your Organization Is a Salesperson

I say it all the time – “LIFE IS SALES” – meaning that all of us is selling something whenever we communicate with somebody. That’s probably no new news to you. However, you’d be surprised by the CEO’s that I know that, in addition to hiring salespeople that can’t and/or won’t sell, hire their executives, customer support people, even their receptionists that have terrible sales skills – and I believe they are leaving tons of money on the table, among other things, because of this mistake!

Am I saying that everybody in your organization needs to be able to prospect, find pain, negotiate contracts/pricing, and close the deal? Well…. yes, but not at the same intensity level as the full-time salesperson. However, every person should be able to gently ask questions to get the real problem and carry that through to a solution, be it a customer, vendor or fellow employee. Every person should have great listening skills to make whoever they are dealing with feel important.  Every person should be keeping their eyes and ears open and looking for ways to help.