To get better at sales, learn from buying

I went to buy a bottle of cologne at a shopping mall—bad idea from the start, I know. But I had tried to order a bottle of Nautica on Amazon and the scent went away after 10 minutes, almost like the product had been watered down. So I followed some advice to buy cologne in-store.

I found myself giving the exact same objections that annoyed me when they came from my own clients—”I want to think about it” and “I’ll come back tomorrow.” The salesperson at Macy’s had three bottles on the counter.

He had already qualified me on the scent of my last bottle not lasting long and he said, “If you want a quality cologne that lasts longer, this is the one.” Of course, it was the most expensive one. But I bought it. Because he qualified perfectly and sold value to solve my specific pain point.

Now, this isn’t an article about selling cologne. It’s about putting yourself in a buying situation, as a salesperson. You’ll find yourself giving the same objections you hear all day, but now, you’ll actually understand WHY your clients give these objections, because you will FEEL it yourself.

Better yet, put yourself in a buying situation for something that you actually plan on buying, and then you’ll feel the moment when you make your buying decision.

Take a quick minute to reflect on why you bought. What specific piece of value sold you? What did the salesperson say? You might have some realizations about your own sales process.