Four reasons why you sell for yourself

Handshake after signing contract. PHOTO | SHUTTERSTOCK 

By JOHN KAGECHE
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Dear seller, you are not making that sale for your employer; you are making it for yourself. The employer is secondary. Rid yourself of the mentality that this is the employer’s problem. It limits your performance; it gets you going in fits and spurts. And in any case, it’s not. If the employer felt
you are not pulling your weight but instead pushing your luck, then he will do as much as he should to get you going (including training) and when all else fails he will simply replace you with someone else who can do the job. Embrace the sale as your own first and the employer’s second.

Another reason why you should do this is because you are a walking billboard. Effective sellers are few and far between; as such, employers are always on the lookout for them. You likely know of a seller that pitched to the human resource manager or sales manager of an institution who were so wowed by him, that they immediately engaged him in an informal interview, or outrightly asked him for his curriculum vitae. Whether you are aware of it or not, you are a walking advertisement with tag line, “I’m on sale.” Show stellar value, and get asked for your CV; show just-getting-by interest and lose both the sale and interest in you.

Yet another reason the sale is yours and not the employer’s is that buyers buy the seller first, and the product second. This is evident in the service industry; say a travel agency where I once sold. This traveller came in asking for Patrick. “He’s away for a few days,” she was told. “How can we help you?” Her response: “When is he coming back?” Friday she was told to which she instantly responded, “It’s OK, I’ll wait till then.” When Friday came, guess what she wanted: an air ticket to Mombasa! Something which any other customer service rep would have easily done for her but no, she wanted to be served by Patrick. There is something magical about a buyer seller connection that accelerates the sale.

And finally, you push (or shrink) the target boundaries further because you are driven by your own needs and not those placed by the employer. You know if you sold x, your bonus would be high enough for you to go on that holiday, pay for that degree, buy that piece of land, start construction of your house or put a down payment for dowry.

Whatever the reason, you know that if you do not make the best of the opportunity to sell and grow yourself, a time will come when you won’t have the energy to kick as hard as you are now. At that time you will want to own a house, start your business or simply have something to show for it. If however, you were selling for the employer….