Selling is Human series: Why the customer is King and we are all in sales
I just finished reading this amazing book by Dan Pink: Selling is Human. I learned a lot from it and I will share my thoughts on the main points of the book. The book starts by explaining how business has been changed with the tools that are not available for customers to get informed. This has shifted sales from Caveat Emptor to Caveat Venditor (Seller beware to Buyer Beware). We all know that knowledge is power, in the past the ones with the power were the sellers; purchases were mostly finalized at stores (or door by door), buyers in most situations had no idea of what options they had before the moment of purchase.
Businesses had a highly specialized department dedicated to sales, while the other employees had functions that were considered unrelated to that department. The shopping process was generated by a need, and the shopper relied on the advice that he/she got from the Buyer. This has all changed, with all the information available, now the shopper is the one with the power. Before purchase they have researched their options, retail outlets, what is on sale, what are the guarantee policies, and they have also read reviews on Amazon and Yelp. We are all in sales (almost all of us) because since the customer has a lot of information already, every employee or service provider who has contact with the customer is impacting his/her decision to purchase with the quality of service/product they offer. In this competitive environment of buyers bewar, businesses have to be on top of things, guaranteeing that they are offering a competitive product/service and superior customer relationship management. Every employee needs to understand the business strategy and direction, since “they are all in sales” and are impacting the closing of every deal.