Selling

It has come to my attention that selling is not an art, it is insanity!

I remember trying to sell candy bars and albums in Band and Choir in High School.  The candy bars should have been an easy sell, but at $1.00 each during the early 70s, people looked at you funny and said they were going to go buy a Hershey bar.  Never mind the fact that it was going to a worthy cause, not to mention it helped to keep the property taxes down (the money would have to come from somewhere).  The albums were another story.  Here I was offering an item that, unless you were a music lover, friend or family member, you didn’t REALLY want or need.

That’s the thing - the majority of sales should be for things people have a want or need for.  Instead, a seller must help the buyer see their need for the product.  Most of the time it is like selling ice water to someone who lives in a polar region.  They nod approvingly as you spill your guts out, instead of saying a polite, “no thank you,” to you.  If the item was really what the person wanted, they would have gotten it at Wal-Mart or on eBay.

Times have changed.  We used to go to the store for an item.  Now we check to see if it is online and what the online stores (who have little or no overhead), are selling the item for.  The local merchants are forced to take a very low profit margin just to get the sale.  Then we have the gall to complain when Computer Discount Place (ficticious name), goes out of business.  Get real, folks.  If the price on a product that is local is only a few dollars more, buy it.  You may save someone’s job. (If you work for their supplier, you may save your own!)

Back to the original course I was on…I used to sell on eBay.  Being an eBay seller can be very interesting.  You have people that want you to sell for one-third of your asking price.  SURE THING! I really want to sell this to you and lose money.  That is what I am in business for!  You also have the occasional seller that sends you junk and expects that you won’t demand a refund.  I had one guy that took 2 months to refund my money - when I REALLY needed it.  Then there are the majority of folks on eBay that are awesome, they make buying and selling easy and great. Overall, I really did enjoy my time being a PowerSeller - despite the occasional headache.

I am now doing some Internet marketing.  This is a different sales world.  You must meet with the approval of your audience, Google, Yahoo, bing, and those that are buying your products.  There are lots and lots of little do’s and dont’s, some are clearly written and some are only given out by word of mouth from the experienced marketers.  I came into this stuff pretty naive, I thought that with the Internet, things would not be as complicated as with other sales I had experienced.  Not so.  The Internet is STILL growing and changing.  The rules are in motion to keep up with what Society is expecting of the Internet and its population.  What was acceptable a year ago may not be alright today, but tomorrow those rules may be null and void - go figure.  I just hope that I get good at Internet marketing before I lose all my hair….

Ok, I will shut up now.  Have a nice day!