I was giving a speech recently on one of my favorite topics “Everyone Is in Sales”, when Oliver Picher, a local marketing and PR guru made the comment to me that “Everyone is also in communications.” He is so correct about that! Great sales professionals not only are great listeners, but they also communicate well. I was very intrigued and interested with Oliver’s perspective on this topic, so I asked him to share his thoughts with the ToddCohen.com Sales Community.
I am happy to introduce this week’s column, which has been written by a new guest author, the very same Oliver Picher. His article is called “A Dirty Little Secret: Everyone Is in Communications.” It’s a great article, and it speaks to what we as sales professionals need to do to raise our game and win clients! Take the time to read it and offer your thoughts on the ToddCohen.com Blog! Oliver and I want to know what you think!
Oliver maintains his own blog called “Fun with Networking” and his thoughts on communicating are timely for all sales professionals.
Good Selling and Great Communicating!
-Todd
Todd & Oliver,
This was a great article. I have always believed this, and actually used the argument in reverse…
When I started my sales career in 1997 I was leaving a career in broadcasting behind. In an interview for a sales position I was asked how my 6 years in radio would help me, and I said that being in communications convinced me that everyone was in communications. And in as much as I hosted a talk show and needed to illicit response (callers), I also had come to believe that everyone was also in sales.
Maybe not the most eloquent analogy, but I got the job. And if you go back and re-read Oliver’s 3 main points, they apply to a radio talk show host just as much as they do to a sales person!
Selling drives behavior – whether getting someone to call a show or buy a product – and Oliver illustrates the psychology of this in a great way.
EW
Thanks, Ethan. I’m pleased you thought the article was great and, I hope, useful to you in your selling.
My friend Todd Cohen, a sales visionary I met earlier this year at a networking seminar, invited me to write about my Dirty Little Secrets of Communications for his growing online sales community, ToddCohen.com. “Everyone is in Sales,” according to Todd, and I agree wholeheartedly, with the caution that “Everyone is in Communications” too. I think a lot of what I wrote for Todd also applies well to those of you interested in professional networking.
See more at http://funwithnetworking.com/2007/11/secret-to-professional-networking.html