"What You Should or Should Not Do in Professional Selling"

A new academic semester is before us and when asked to present an expectation from the professional selling class before him, a student asked, "What should and shouldn't a professional sales person do in the course of a day?"

This prompted a slew of brain activity in this author (caution: this can be harmful if not treated....).  At once I was reminded of my training as an aviator in the U.S. Navy.  No slight intended for my Air Force brethren, us Naval Aviators always bragged that our superiors who wrote the manuals always told us what we could NOT do once inside the aircraft.  Air Force manuals seemed to be written to suggest only what the pilot could do in the aircraft.  There is a big difference here.  Many believe, myself included, that the former opens up the world to possibility.  The latter stifles the creative mind.

So goes it in Professional Selling.  As this blog promotes, selling is both a science and an art.  Successful selling requires a certain level of creativity.  I would argue a great deal of it.  Who but the best of us can find a solution to a customer's challenge(s) without the solution anywhere in sight for the buyer?  We find opportunities where no others can.

And so, I've put together a list of "Do's and Don'ts" for the Professional Seller. Here goes:

Top 15 Don’ts:

1.     Do NOT lie, cheat or steal.  Instead earn it.
2.        Do NOT disparage your competition.  Instead trap them with professional tactics.
3.        Do NOT disparage a co-worker unless he/she has violated a law or policy.  Instead buy them a drink.
4.        Do NOT disparage your company.  Instead find a new employer.
5.        Do NOT disparage your spouse’s/mother’s cooking to cancel an appointment.  Instead blame it on your dog, he/she is defenseless.
6.        Do NOT under-dress for an appointment.  Instead un-dress in the parking lot if you must.       
7.     Do NOT be late for an appointment.  Instead call ahead.
8.        Do NOT eat a burrito before an appointment.  Instead buy a stash of Altoids and Imodium for the glove compartment.
9.       Do NOT make spelling errors or errors of grammar.  Instead hire your room-mate to proof.
10.        Do NOT “wing it”.  Instead prepare.
11.        Do NOT whine to your boss without a solution.  Instead recommend two solutions for every “whine”.
12.        Do NOT ask your boss out for drinks unless you whined and want to apologize.  Even then, refrain.  Instead, drink alone.
13.        Do NOT comment on a fellow worker’s or customer’s hair style or wardrobe.  Instead, self-deprecate.  Your weight or lack thereof, is always an easy target.
14.        Do NOT comment on a customer’s pictures of his/her spouse/partner and children.  Instead, comment on the weather.  Everyone sees, feels and agrees on the weather.
15.        Do NOT comment on politics (especially now), religion and your favorite sports team, UNLESS it is to hate the Yankees or Jets which is accepted everywhere.

Top 15 Do’s:

       1.  Everything NOT protected by the “Top 15 Don’ts” – be CREATIVE!

THIS denotes the ART of Professional Selling!