The Desert of Arizona
Sunny 45 Degrees – 7:28 a.m.
Do you want to be a salesperson or do you want to be an advisor?
One is not better than the other, but they have little to do with each other.
To me, it’s far better to make a clear choice and be that 100% than to try to mix these two paths together.
Salespeople SELL. They hone that skill and pursue a mastery of getting people to buy. The salesperson’s skill is to make a case for why purchasing product X is in the best interest of the prospect. Prospects know they are in the presence of salespeople and react accordingly.
Advisors ADVISE. They hone the ability to offer counsel and advice. The advisor’s skill is to put the interests of the prospect first and make recommendations based on those…even if that means no sale for the advisor.
Unlike the salesperson, the advisor’s job is NOT to show the prospect that what the advisor wants is in the best interest of the prospect. It is to keep the interests of the prospect or client as priority #1 at all times.
So the choice is fairly simple. And frankly, you’re probably wired for one of these paths more than the other.
Where things get messy is when you encounter a salesperson dressed in advisor’s clothing. Ultimately, this leads to disaster, even though you might make a ton of money in the process and in the short term. Good for you.
But really, if you’re “advising” people to “buy any color car as long as it’s the one you want them to buy,” you’re doing a huge disservice to the whole world, you included.
If you want to be a salesperson, then for goodness’ sake, sell things that ARE in the best interest of your prospects or stop selling things.
If you want to be an advisor, then do the work required to structure things so that by helping your prospect win you can also win.
If you do it right, you end up with people buying either way.
But how that buying happens is totally different down each path.
So the bottom line is to figure out who you want to be and be THAT.
A great clarity comes when you commit to one path over the other and don’t waver from the foundational principles that govern your role in the life of a prospect or client.