Sales. It's such a dirty word!

I've never considered myself a "salesman" per se...but in a sense, nearly ALL of us are in sales of some kind. Anytime we ask someone to spend their money with us, we're "selling" even if it's something as simple as a cheeseburger or as complex as a creative idea that will turn into a marketing program.

I heard someone say recently that sales is simply a transfer of confidence. Meaning that if you believe in what you have, someone else will see your excitement and want it. That I can understand. Certainly, if the waitress tells me the cheeseburger is "REALLY good, and I don't normally like cheeseburgers", I'm going to try the damn cheeseburger! Similarly, when someone comes to your business, if you're confident (without being cocky), they'll see that and feel ok spending their hard earned money with you.

This whole post came up because yesterday I got a wonderful compliment from a client. This woman and her family own a very successful retirement community, and I was leading the creative meeting to develop their new commercials. When we were done, we were just chatting and I mentioned I was talking with some folks about doing some freelance writing for me...well, she said in no uncertain terms "We want YOU to keep working on our projects. YOU're the reason we bought radio!" I have to admit, that was a great feeling...but more than that, it was a transfer of confidence: mine in my ability to create something that was effective. Theirs because they feel I'm the guy to keep their campaign running smoothly.

So, I guess I am in sales afterall. Now, about that cheeseburger...