There is No Place for “Buyers Are Liars” in the Sales Profession

Posted by Dave Stein on July 20, 2010

0 comments | 1391 reads

Yesterday I received an email from a Sandler franchisee inviting me to attend a live “Buyers Are Liars Workshop.” I’ve seen and heard this statement before, but only now feel compelled to voice my opinion.

I don’t know about you, but that phrase and the combative attitude it represents concerns me. Do buyers lie? Sure, some of them do. Do sellers lie? Same story.

The sales profession has enough to overcome without a sales training industry leader conveying this negative, fatalistic view of selling.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not attacking the Sandler organization or any of their franchisees. ESR covers Sandler and we know they certainly have their share of satisfied, loyal customers in the markets they serve.

But many of us, including Howard Stevens and the University Sales Education Foundation, are working hard to elevate the profession of selling in the U.S. and other parts of the world. With that in mind, it would certainly help this and future generations of sales professionals for us to tone down the rhetoric and spend our creative energies helping salespeople better understand how to establish mutually beneficial, trusting relationships with their customers. If someone doesn’t believe that can be accomplished, they should consider another profession.

Republished with author's permission from original post by Dave Stein.

Dave Stein

After a career in sales, then as a sales consultant, trainer, and author, Dave Stein is now founder/CEO of ES Research Group, Inc., which publishes independent evaluations and comparisons sales training companies and their programs and services. ESR is recognized as the leading authority on sales training programs and sales performance improvement. For the past twenty years Dave has focused on sales performance improvement, sales effectiveness and especially sales training.

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