Can you sell? Are you a salesperson or an order taker? What's the difference? We could start with income, but that isn't the real measure of value nor does it show the difference. However, an order taker on average will earn $75,000- $85,000, if they are lucky perhaps they get to six figures, while a true salesperson will earn anywhere from 3-5 times this amount and can sit in the top 5% of all professions. We could talk about the basics. These would include:
These differences alone are confronting if you believe you are a Salesperson but can relate more to the Order Taker column! But that’s not where I believe the real differences lie.
We could also talk about the salesperson vs order takers mindset, however more often than not the order taker has fooled themselves into thinking they are a salesperson. However, in the next breath they do all the things an order taker does. This is a conversation for another day but the identity of a true salesperson, their habits and goals set them apart from the order taker.
For me the differences are amplified in these areas:
The Saleperson’s Ability To Influence
The ability to influence sets the salesperson apart! What is influence? “Influence is the ability to persuade others to act differently, to behave differently, or to believe something…. It is the ability to be someone worth listening to, someone worth being influenced by” – Anthony Iannarino
Influence is something you earn, it is given. It cannot be taken without permission. The salesperson understands this and builds trust, connection, leads with insights and ultimately works towards a position of influence.
Selling is about influencing change, this is the key difference between selling and order taking. The actual ability to influence the change, influence the sale and drive an outcome that is best for your customer. A real salesperson is invested in their customers success. They are all in!
How you influence change and the sale process is part of the craft of sales. A salesperson can influence people, processes, products, objections and challenges and ultimately the solution. Your role as a salesperson is to help craft the solution in partnership with your client.
Order takers simply react to a customers request and have little or no influence! They just hope to win the deal at the end by following a request.
I love how Anthony Iannarino sums up influence. “Influence isn’t tactical. Influence is the sum of all of the foundational attributes that make you someone worth listening to in the first place. The best salespeople possess the ability to influence and persuade others because they are people who create trust. That trust builds relationships and it helps build results. These are the keys to influence.” (1)
The 3c’s & Ownership
I have spoken about these before. The 3C’s! Closing, (In) Control, Creating Urgency. Sure, these are some old school principles! Yes, sales has evolved and you need a balance of old school and new school techniques, (Tony Hughes combo etc) however the salesperson DNA and ability to do these 3 things still sets them apart. The best salespeople I have worked with have a deep appreciation for these skills and are also reflecting as they work through the process on the 3C’s. How many times have I heard an order taker say ‘I'm waiting for them to call me with feedback’? ‘I'm waiting for x’? It’s out of my control?
Salespeople take ownership of their work. They are victors and not victims.
They don’t look for excuses in the environment, team, the culture, the economy, the processes, the sales tools or technology or even worse their customers. They are accountable! Accountable for their actions, reactions and mindset. When they face obstacles, rejection and roadblocks, they push in and through to achieve their objections.
Order takers are victims. They blame others, they find fault in their customers, faults in the product or service they sell, they point the finger. They rarely self-reflect and if they do they reflect on the external influences that caused them loss, they never reflect at what they could do differently.
Over Delivery
The true salesperson doesn’t buy into the mantra of underpromise and overdeliver. This is an order taker mentality and in my opinion a slippery slope to commoditising yourself and the product/service you sell.
A true salesperson wants to over deliver and WOW their customer. I am a big believer in setting high expectations for your customer and still over delivering. If you can do this time and time again you will have a customer and referral network for life!
Constantly prospecting The salesperson is constantly prospecting. At work, at home, in the gym, the school playground. They are naturally curious and always looking for new ways to prospect. Additionally 50% of their work or more would be spent prospecting to clients. They use both old school and new school techniques and understand the need and value of consistency in this space.
Think of the salesperson as an Eagle. They own the skies, constantly scanning their surroundings and the horizon for the next opportunity. For the analogy sake we will say prey, but a great salesperson doesn’t see their prospect as prey, they see them as a partner but that ruins where I am going! 😊
They are constantly on the hunt, they will prospect until they secure the prize, not out of obligation to hit a sales metric or fear but because they love the hunt. Once they have secured their opportunity, they will be in the skies looking for the next opportunity.
On the other side the Order Taker is like the vulture, relegated to the scraps or what they can find. Sitting and waiting to see what they can salvage from the eagle. The only problem is, they need to fight off the other vultures and they have little to no differentiation.
Being a vulture is not a way to live. There are much easier professions if this is where you are stuck!
What do you think separates a true salesperson vs an order taker?
Share your comments below.
References:
(1) https://thesalesblog.com/2010/02/06/influence-the-ability-to-persuade-others/- a great blog that goes deeper into influence in sales.
This article is originally published at www.matthewcossens.com/blog/
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