The Art of Selling

There was a knock on the door. I went to it and found out that it is a harmless looking elder gentleman with a pair of dense glasses perched awkwardly low on his flat, and slightly crooked, nose. He greeted me with a smile.

'Hi, you must be Cecil right? I'm Philip. I believe my wife Doris came here a couple of weeks ago to talk to you about the faith in the Lord?' the elderly man looked straight into my eye with honesty.

I searched my memory bank for a relevant experience and i think, yeah, Doris was indeed here with a younger lady of perhaps my age not long ago. The ladies were Christians, but of what kind?

So i told the gentleman that yes, i do recall that.

'Great Cecil. Do you believe in Redemption and in the presence of God?'

'Yeah, i'm a monotheist, so i have to believe in a sole creator of our universe, whether it's a person or not, i'm open to ideas.'

'Oh that's great! Now Cecil, do you have any questions regarding the sufferings in this world? For example, the recent tsunami incident. So many people perished you know, out of the blue the waves came and took them. We always ask, why is oh mighty Lord, the one that is so merciful, so blind as to let this terrible tragedy happen? Why would he love and take lives at the same time?' Philip said, with muscles all over his face contorted by anguish.

'Well, things happened for a reason, scientific or religious or not. Maybe they were meant to be taken away, into heaven or hell, before Judgement Day, according to your faith? You'll never know, so sometimes there's not much point is asking 'Why?' We should just ask the 'How did it happen?' And seek to prevent such disaster from happening again.' I said with a matter-of-factly tone. I've came across this question countless times before. Come on brother, my forte in General Paper is Science and Religion.

Philip wondered what to say next and proceeded to another topic, 'What other doubts do you have about Christianity?'

What a weird question. Why are you prompting me to doubt your faith? I have no intention to. But since you've asked, i shall ask him the question that no-one on this Earth will possibly have an answer to.

'Yeah, i've got one - Who made God and what's his purpose? If He is a person; because all humans are made in his glory and image, some one must have made him right? After all he is a complex being.'

Philip pondered on my questions for a while, and said, 'Well, the Bible actually told us the purpose of God.'

'It does? Where?'

'Well, i can't recall at this moment, but i can find out.'

The reply is making him seem stupid. I don't mean to be rude, but you can't convince me with nothing to show right?

Philip knew that i was irritated by his lack of credibility, but he still dragged on and on about stuff in the Bible that i have either studied or questioned before. I reacted nonchalantly, and i can see that it's getting increasingly hard for him to convince me. I was just about to say sorry but i'm not interested in your church when my sis came out to ask me to keep quiet 'cos she was having a tuition lesson in the room next to the door. For once her phobia for noise actually did work in my favour. Philip had to go, but before i let him do so, i shot my question.

'So Philip, are you a Protestant or Catholic?'

'Oh, i'm neither.'

'But i thought most Christians in Singapore are from either one of this two sects right?'

'I'm from a JW church.'

Come on, don't need to hide your belief behind abbreviations. I know what JW is, and i also know that it is not well received in Singapore. It's kinda like a cult. I also know that if i make you say it, i'll be putting you in a spot. But he should not be hiding. Anyway, i made it easier for him.

'JW is Jehovah's Witness right?'

'Oh yes, how do you know that? Have you come across any of my brothers or sisters before?'

'Yeah i did.'

'Where?'

'In the Army Detention Barracks, or DB.'

Philip's face changed totally. DB is the prison equivalent of the Army. JW's are in there for they denounced arms and uniform, and in so doing, contravened the NS Laws in Singapore. They were charged in Court Marshall and put in DB for their entire National Service term. With this knowledge, i've got the upper hand this time. How quickly this conversation has turned around! Philip, the seller, was suppose to control the conversation to his favour, but now the table has turned totally. Philip was still asking questions, but i am controlling the conversation with my answers 'cos i know what questions he was going to come up with.

Poor Philip, he has to leave empty-handed after talking to me for a good 45 mins. He didn't get my contact number, my consent to go down and visit his church, nor get me to accept his offer of a free bible. He told me that he'll be back, but i think that was our first and last meeting.

Now, what did Philip do wrong? He was this honest-looking, well-intenting gentleman who made the effort to preach on a hot and humid Sunday afternoon. His faith in glorifying God drove him to my house and several others'. But he would fail at my door, and at alot more other doors before and after mine. Why is that so? It is because Philip lacks the Art of Selling.

Philip is a good Christian and JW. But he is definitely not a good sales person. He failed to arouse my curiosity, my emotions and my desire. At the start he was still doing fine. But at the first question regarding the tsunami, he did a grave mistake - he sold me his take on the disaster even before knowing mine - big time sales pitching error. You have just given me the chance to throw you off with my answer, which will naturally put Philip in a spot as most Christians preaching from door to door are expecting ignorant, sympathetic souls who would indeed lament over his example. Boy was he wrong about me!

What he could have asked is, 'Cecil, what is your take on the recent tsunami?' Philip should ask this question to first know my stand on the tsunami, and of course the suffering. Hence, he can find out whether i'm sympathetic and ignorant about his faith, or not, before he reinforces on points that will sway me to his side, using my understanding and feelings as a basis of discussion. In that way, he would not likely relinquish his control over the conversation to me so quickly. That's the first mistake, failure to listen and understand the needs and stands of the prospect.

Then he made a second mistake in making a stupid suggestion, 'Any more doubts regarding the faith?' I have absolutely no intention in engaging in a FAQ with you brother. You are suppose to sell me your faith remember?

So i threw in another spanner, and lo and behold, Philip hesistated once more. Then he made his third mistake - showing me that he is not sure of his Bible, or the product that he was trying to sell, to put it simply. Philip was wavering his own stand! How can a salesperson [Philip] show the customer [ME] that he knows nuts about his product? Who in the right mind would bother to give this salesperson his trust?

By the end of the third mistake, i had near perfect control of the conversation, and Philip was done for. He tried to entice me with his FREE Bible, but i have a simple excuse to put him off - I already have one. It's a lie yes, but there's no good in telling him, 'Save your good bible for someone else pal, cos i don't believe in what you were saying.' Firstly, he's at least 60, and he was trying hard. I didn't want to make it too discouraging for him.

This parable serves to elucidate a truth - selling is an everyday thing. In every conversation that we engage in, we are bound to sell, or get sold; we talk to sway the other party to our viewpoints or we got swayed instead. Philip tried to sell me perhaps a ticket to go down to his JW church, but he failed terribly; my dad always wants me to listen to him without he listening to me and he too failed terribly, 'cos i'll get fed up and demand his ears; your friends would have attempted to 'chio' you out to club or waste money during your off days watching movies and dining at restaurants before. Sometimes they convinced you, sometimes they don't.

Look at the computer monitor. Someone sold it to you right? It could be an unknown sales dude in the computer supermart nearby, or Dell ads, or your cousin who's damn good at fixing computers. But before the monitor get sold, some one else sold the parts of the monitor to the monitor manufacturing company; and the dudes that built the monitor parts were sold the resources to build the parts with in the first place. The same process goes for every single product you are wearing, eating, drinking and using. Sales and marketing is the most practical, and most lucrative, industry in this whole world. Just image, every year, how many millions of people are turning 18 and begin to possess the power to spend as they start having jobs. Sales is big time stuff for the market is always growing.

Beyond monetary terms, selling is an art that all of us need, in order to get our ways, influence people and achieve results. But selling is also a dangerous tool if used wrongly. The best sales person is often a master of emtional manipulation. If i present to you some discounted stuff, you may be tempted, but you will not buy. If i tell you why you can't live without it, base on your desires and emotions, you would buy it mostly on the spot, unless you are the super disciplined shopper who would seek out the cheapest bargain possible. If i tell you why my plan is good, you may or may not believe it. But if i tell you how my plan is going to help you attain your dreams and personal, departmental or corporation visions, you are definitely 80% swayed.

Now, this approach is really quite powerful. We must only use the art of selling to help people overcome their objections so that they can get what they really want. Never use it to manipulate people into doing something against their will, or do them harm so that we can profit. Use it to guide them into making a decision that will benefit them. This is where our moral courage and correct values come in. With great power comes great responsibilties. It's is easy to be tempted by potential benefits that will improve our lives, but it'll take courage beyond physical strength to say no to to them should someone lose big time in order for you to win. According to the Dharma - Taking is easy. Letting Go is hard.

I'm glad that i was given this chance to find out so much about sales and marketing in such a short time. Thanks to the books that i've been given to read by my friends and colleagues, and of course to my mom who granted me the chance to organise and conduct a very successful product clinic yesterday. Now that my business is beginning to take off, there are more things to put into practice - Management and Leadership Skills - the very posts that i've been trained for in the Army. Now we'll see if the skills that i've acquired will be helpful in business. I'm sure it will be, and so, how to apply is the question to answer.

For now, i'm still finding out more about the Art of Selling, but i'm glad that i was aware of its powers so early on in life. It is a great tool to get ahead, but it also promises great evil. Kinda like Star Wars eh? Remember the Fallen Angels and the empty promises of the Dark Side, and may the force be with you.