In “Hope Is Not A Strategy”, by Rick Page, he discusses the different salesperson types that are required in today’s business world to handle a complex sale. It used to be pretty simple – a salesperson meets with a potential buyer and they would discuss the product or service, the delivery time and the price. If everything looked right, then an order was placed and all was great. However, in today’s world where you can pretty much find anything on the Internet at a great price, there is a lot of competition for the business.
In the corporate culture there is a lot of politics that tend to get in the way of efficiency. Many times there is a good intention to buy a product or service that could increase the efficiency of the business and potentially boost profits while reducing expenses. In today’s complex sale, with the process of purchasing spread out over the different levels of the business, the seller now needs different salesperson types to address the sale at both low and high levels within the buying organization.
Network marketing, while more simple than the complex sale, still has a bit of a twist to it!
Salesperson Types
Mr. Page theorizes that there are seven salesperson types required to handle this type of complex sale. These are:
- Teller – the person who will describe all of the features
- Seller – the person who will consult with the buyer as to their pain and needs
- Hunter – the person who will address the competition
- Farmer – the person who will stay with the buyer for repeat business
- Business Developer – the person who will generate future sales with the buyer
- Partner – the person who will deal with management politics
- Industry Consultant – the person who is connected to a large network in the industry giving credibility to the seller at the buyer’s executive level
This is all well and good for the complex sale to the multi-level corporation, which requires buy-in from multiple levels of the organization before a purchase can be authorized and completed. The question is, what salesperson types are best for Network Marketing?
What is Network Marketing?
Perhaps the best place to begin is by truly understanding what Network Marketing is. In the corporate structure, there is a multi-level organization with the authority and grand share of the money concentrated at the top with a small set of people. Most people in this type of structure make a little bit of the money and have very little say in what they can do, or when they are able to do it.
Network Marketing is the exact opposite. Yes, to be a part of a Network Marketing program you take your place in the multi-level structure, similar to a corporate structure, however, in this case, you get to set your own hours, decide how you are going to approach your work, and the potential for making the money rests entirely with you and is virtually unlimited. Network Marketing is more about sharing products and the opportunity with others who may want to take on their own business as their own boss. It is self-motivated and self-actualized.
Salesperson Types for Network Marketing
In the Network Marketing business, everyone is your potential customer. It goes back to the simple sale model. When you interact with someone and you bring up the business you are acting as a salesperson, whether you think of it this way or not, but the real truth lies in that you are always a salesperson, selling yourself and your ideas to others. When you tell someone about a movie you loved, or a restaurant you love, you are presenting your opinion about a product or a service that you feel strongly about. You are selling through a referral, but you aren’t going to get any commissions from this type of sales. In this case, you are the Teller.
So what is so different about you telling someone about your product or service? The answer is that you are invested in your business and you hope to get paid for it. Therefore, you are asking for this person to commit to a financial transaction. Now why is it so hard to ask this for so many people? Many people are uncomfortable with asking someone else to spend their money in a way that will profit themselves, but isn’t that why we join a business in the first place? Isn’t that what we are doing as a retail salesperson (Farmer), or as a service provider (Seller and Farmer)? We are not doing it as a low or mid level employee of a corporation. We are trading our time for their money, and not a lot of it.
The best of all salesperson types for the Network Marketing industry is the Seller, which is a consultative salesperson type. There is always a bit of the Teller, but simply telling people the features of your business is not a winning strategy. It is time consuming and something that can be best done on their own time to their own level of content. The Seller is the one who simply describes the business in simple terms and asks for the sale.
Yet there is more to it than this. Actually, the biggest part of being a successful Seller is knowing how to listen. The way to create sales is to identify the pain or real need of the prospective buyer and to link the product and opportunity to that pain. This is accomplished by asking the right questions and listening well, though key for all salesperson types! There is very little to tell when you have asked the right question and you know where to direct your words.
The really successful of all salesperson types in most businesses, at least for closing the sale, is the Hunter. This is the person who asks the right questions, addresses the pain and can explain why this opportunity is better than the competition, and then drive hard for closing the sale. This is aggressive sales and will result in a lot of new business, but the resulting organization will tend to be made up of long legs without the bandwidth to build a long term sustaining and growing business. The Hunter can never be the Farmer, who is necessary for nurturing the relationships and growing a wide and stable base of repeat customers.
So, what are the best Salesperson Types for Network Marketing?
In reality, there are no “best” salesperson types for Network Marketing. The ideal person is the Seller with a nice blend of Teller, Farmer and Hunter. Virtually anyone can be the Seller, since this is the same as recommending a great movie or restaurant. This is known as consultative sales. The only thing that the Seller must learn is how to ask the right questions, including asking for the sale. There is a little of the Teller, but usually telling their own personal story with passion and conviction (selling). There is a lot of the Farmer in building a wide and stable repeat customer base, which is the nurturing part of the business. There is a little of the Hunter to overcome the little voice that is constantly telling you ‘why you can’t do this’.
The other salesperson types are best left to be realized through the resources of your company and your support team; with the Internet, three-way calls, webinars, articles from the experts, testimonials, and so many other ways to develop and grow the business.
The reason you joined your Network Marketing company was so you could be your own boss, have unlimited earning potential and to free yourself from past restrictions on your own personal growth and income. It is a small step from being the Teller to becoming the Seller. It is the difference of learning to ask questions instead of hearing your own voice.
From the office of Drew Berman, contributed by Seth Lefferts. Seth Lefferts is an entrepreneur, consultant and business owner. He has spent many years in the corporate environment and has discovered that there is a way out. He is now teaching how to utilize the skill set that it takes to break free and become your own boss, and how to realize your dreams. Learn more at www.DareToDreamNow.Us.
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