I wish I had a nickel (or $5 for inflation and the price of gas) for every time I've heard this statement...
"But I can't sell.
" Now I hear this from every type of person out there...
family members, friends to business people.
In my early years when I was "selling on the street" as we called it...
one of the types of customers I had was selling food products to restaurants.
Time and time agai I would hear, "I couldn't do what you do...
I can't sell.
" I was always shocked by this comment because here the owner (or manager) is depending on customers to BUY their food and they are telling me "they can't sell".
Of course then the next comment would be about how bad business has been...
well I don't doubt it...
if you can't sell to your customers you'll be out of business before long.
The truth of the matter is we are ALL selling everyday.
I've done meetings and training sessions on sales and one of the first questions I ask is "Who thinks they cannot sell?" A few hands always go up.
Then I ask one of them to explain why they cannot sell.
They will proceed to go into this speech about why they think they cannot sell.
Once they are finished, I look at them as say, "you've just been SELLING me on the fact that YOU cannot sell.
" As I said we are all selling...
everyday.
In all fairness, when most people make the comment "but I can't sell", they usually mean that they don't think they could make a living selling.
I will admit that part of the problem is the "stereotypical" image of a salesperson.
Usually that image is the "shady used car salesperson" which is entirely false.
Granted like any "profession" there are bad apples, but by and large most salespeople are very honorable and want to help their prospective customer.
My real concerns are the people who have their own business and claim they cannot sell.
This is a recipe for disaster.
Selling is not that difficult.
And if you really believe you cannot sell, then you need to do something about it.