When I recruit candidates for my clients, the title of this article is one of my favorite interview questions to ask. And it amazes me how many candidates can’t answer it. It’s simple. “What’s your favorite part of selling?” You can answer it, right? So, why can’t so many salespeople?
I think it’s because, for too many salespeople, there isn’t a favorite part of selling. They simply don’t enjoy the process of selling. Or worse, they’ve never given their profession enough thought to analyze what they really enjoy about it – you’d be amazed at how many salespeople like this that there are about you. That said, after asking that question thousands (literally) of times, I’ve come up with some thoughts on what the answers are – and what they say about the person who gives them:
“Prospecting.” Yes, I’ve had this answer, but not often. The truth is that few salespeople are really in love with prospecting. Personally, I’m not either, but it has to be done. This is one of those answers that I was always suspicious of, so I made sure to drill down and ask “Why?” Sometimes the answer fell apart, but when it didn’t, I discovered this: For some salespeople, prospecting is like opening up carefully wrapped presents when you don’t know what’s inside. “The next success,” they say, “Might be on the next phone call.”
“Discovering needs.” I’ve written before about how I think that intellectual curiosity is one of the best traits – if not the best trait – that a salesperson can possess. The intellectually curious salesperson is a good discoverer of needs, because there’s no limit to their thirst for knowledge. This answer also comes from salespeople who like solving problems and improving customers’ conditions.
“Presenting.” One of my own personal coaches, Darren LaCroix, has as his mantra, “Stage time, stage time, stage time,” meaning that the more stage time you get, the better you will be. The “presenting” answer typically comes from those who like stage time. Not a bad trait for a salesperson. This can also come from a desire to use one’s expertise to solve problems, but either way, the “Presenting” salesperson is one who has no problem being the focus of the process from time to time.
“Negotiation.” Here’s another one of those answers that demands drilling down. Few people truly enjoy negotiation, and there are a lot more who say they do than really do. For those who do, this can be a part of the ‘problem solving’ trait, or it can speak to competitiveness.
“Closing.” This is one of the most common answers, and it can be positive or negative. I love closing the sale, too. We all do – there’s nothing like that rush you get when you get a deal locked and loaded. For some salespeople, however, the feeling is more of relief than joy – relief that they made another sale, that they live another day. Don’t get me wrong, I love the result of selling – but what about the enjoyment of the journey? The salesperson who is driven more by relief of making another sale than the enjoyment is typically a mid-career burnout candidate.
What about my favorite part of selling, you ask? Well, nowadays it’s teaching selling and sales management. That’s why I’m putting on my selling and sales management boot camps in Las Vegas in September! But, going back to my selling career, I’ll pull back the curtain. My absolute favorite part of selling is the discovery process – and drilling even deeper, the plant tour. When I was selling industrial supplies, I used to love getting plant tours. Manufacturing, warehousing, cleaning, it didn’t make a difference to me what the plant did. It was an absolute blast for me to see how things were being made and how the company did what it did. Plus, on a plant tour, I could always spot a few needs that the customer didn’t give me through questioning – and it was very rare that I took a tour and didn’t get a sale.
The point is this: While there are seldom wrong answers to that question – the only ones that I counted as wrong were the ones where I felt the candidate was being untruthful – it’s important to me that salespeople know why they do, and enjoy the journey. So what’s your favorite thing about selling? Feel free to email me and tell me. I might use it in a future Navigator.
