Good sales is good business

I doubt I’d ever be tempted to make a career out of sales, but I’ve always studied the way good salesmen operate.

Sales is hard work. I don’t mean looming-behind-a-cash-register-chewing-gum-looking-bovine sales. I mean real sales.

The common stereotype of a professional salesman is of an oily, slick talking type who hustles the harried into buying stuff they might be better off without. What image does this conjure up: “Used car salesman.” See?

But, face it, unless you’re an expert in everything (no shortage of those around, eh?), you depend on salesmen (and, yes, I will nod my head to inclusive language just this once and acknowledge the saleswomen as well) to educate you about a product. It might be a car, a computer, a piece of land…anything costing over a thousand bucks probably means relying on a salesman somehow.

Especially if it’s a computer.

Computers are evil, after all, and entirely beyond the grasp of most mortals.

So to my list of important people like my dentist and my barber, I’ve added the name of my computer salesman, Sam, at ComputerLand. When I want computer stuff, I call Sam. When I think I want computer stuff, I call Sam, and he figures out for me if it’s something I need or not. The thinking is his part of the bargain, all I have to do is make the phone call. He’s figured out how my business operates, what I need, what I don’t, where I’m headed, what kind of hardware and software is appropriate, and how my budget for these things is best spent. He backs up what he sells me. And, best of all, he doesn’t B.S. me.

And that’s what I mean by a good salesman. Anybody can glibly push a product, but where you really get customers on the hook is when your expertise and judgement becomes part of their decision making process. Once they (the customer) have got you (the salesman) in the Rolodex–instead of the other way around–you’re building a loyal clientele.

One element of the CNMI economy that draws a lot of comments from visitors is the lousy state of customer service here. That’s not the fault of sales clerks, it’s the result of mismanagement. If you’ve got a business and your managers don’t consider themselves salesmen, you just might be in trouble. Businesses that think sales is a low-grade activity are low-grade businesses. Businesses that put morons in a position to repel customers strike me as just plain crazy. I’ve never understood the logic of that approach.

And my approach is simple: When I see a good salesman in action, I study how he does what he does, so I can improve my own sales skills. Customer service takes energy and skill, and it’s not an easy task.

Stephens is an economist with Stephens Corporation, a professional organization in the NMI. His column appears three time a week: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Mr. Stephens can be contacted via the following e-mail address:ed4Saipan@yahoo.com.