Business Is A Tough Gig. You. And I. Are Selling. All. The. Time.

Life Behind The Scenes With The Ironing Diva

The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover And Other Goodies is the hook I hang my business hat on. This accidental, rural business, is a dream come true. One of the highlights of my life. This is my journey through the roller coaster world of business. And the choices I make in how to run my dream of a lifetime.
~Carol Jones, Ironing Diva❤

 

Business Is A Tough Gig. You. And I. Are Selling. All. The. Time.
 

Mention the word salesperson to the public at large. What’s their reaction?

It’s usually a combination of:

Sneers.

Smirks.

Frowns.

Followed by descriptions such as:-

Sharks.

Snake oil salesman.

Rip off merchant.

On a scale of 1 to 10. When people rate salespeople. It’s usually just one notch above a politician. Who is always at the bottom of the ladder.

But.

Do you realise that you are a sales person? All the time? Without exception?

Does this surprise you? I’m sure it does. But think about this.

If you’re a parent, you sell to your children. And grandchildren. All. The. Time.

You’re selling them on the idea of going to bed at a certain time.

You’re selling them on the virtue of eating healthy fruit and vegetables when all they want is junk food. When they refuse healthy food, they’re selling you on their belief that junk food tastes better.

You’re selling them on giving up their electronic devices before sitting at the table. They’re selling you on why they want their device next to them at the table.

You’re selling them on the value of a good education. Rather than running away to join the circus. If they disagree, they will start selling you on why their idea is better.

Selling is persuading someone to do something that is important to you. And in return, if they disagree, they will try to persuade you to do what’s important to them.

Couples sell to each other every day. Many times during the day.

Partner A wants to eat out. Partner B wants to stay at home and watch television. The negotiation that accompanies the banter between the two is part of the sales process.

You want your partner to accompany you to the opera. They want to go to the footie. Your ability to get your partner excited about giving up the footie for the opera is part of the sales process. It’s called persuasion. And is an integral part of the sales process.

If you want to buy something extravagant, just for you. You subconsciously find yourself selling yourself on the reasons why you should have it.

Friends sell each other all the time on products they love. Movies they see. Places they go to.

Every time you want to persuade someone to do something that you want them to do, or not do, you’re selling.

There is of course, what is considered to be the optimal conclusion. Win. Win.

I will go to the opera with you this week. If you go to the footie with me next week.

I’m happy to leave my electronic device off during dinner. If you allow me to turn it back on after dinner.

But the outcome is still the same. You are either the person doing the selling. And succeeding in progressing your belief. Or you are the person being sold on the other’s belief.

Even in a Win – Win resolution.

In the case of a Win. Win. You have successfully sold your belief. And the other party has successfully sold their belief.

You can’t explain your way out of this. Selling is a part of your everyday life.

And is so important to how successful your life is.

Grant Cardone is a world class, ethical sales professional. And he states it better than anyone else.

And it’s this.

Your ability to do well in life depends on your ability to sell others on those things in which you believe!”

“Those things in which you believe”. This is you selling to yourself. Your children. Your partner in life. Your friends.

For something so important in life, 95% of the population is abysmal at selling. Including men and women who sell to earn a living. It’s not anything that’s taught in school. It’s not even considered a necessary life skill.

But it’s a lesson I learned very early in my life when negotiating with my parents about why I lied about my age. To get a job working Saturdays in a department store in the small southern town my father was transferred to. In the USA. My birth country.

I was 13. Work permits were only issued to children who were 14 years old. But I was a year ahead of my class. So when I marched into the department store saying I would love to work for them on Saturdays, they said I had to be 14. I said yes, I knew this. I didn’t. But to save the day, I told them I was in the 9th grade. Well. Everyone knows that if you’re in the 9th grade, you’re 14. Aren’t you?

Regarding my parents. I knew that the one I had to persuade to go along with this was my father. If I could do that, my mother would agree.

I simply told my father than if I could have this job, which paid me $4.60 per Saturday, I would give up my allowance. And buy things for myself that I now asked my parents to buy.

At that time my father was earning $35 per week. So $4.60 was a BIG deal.

He was SOLD!

We got around the work permit by not putting my birth date in. Just the grade I was in at school. There were no political correctness police in those days. All the department store cared about was my father’s signature on the work permit.

Ever since that day, I’ve been negotiating my way through life. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I have to accept that I didn’t know enough about the situation to put forth the best argument.

One of my greatest successes was the job I had from 1979 to 1983. Before I started my first business in 1983 as a market research consultant.

It was my first job in sales. Cold calling. And I was very successful. Beyond my own expectations. The company I worked for was turning over $3 Million per year. In my first year, I brought in an extra $1 Million in new business. That was 33% of their annual turnover. No one had ever done that in the company before. And I was their first woman in sales.

When my general manager called me in for my first salary review, I was disappointed at his offer.

Because I wanted to earn more.

So I made him a counter offer.

I gave him a figure of what I wanted to make. And then asked two questions.

1. Is it possible for me to make that in this company?

2. If it is, what do you expect me to do to earn it? Give me some targets to reach. And I’ll pull out all stops to reach them.

He said he’d have to think about it.

What he really meant was that he wasn’t authorised to make that decision. And would have to talk this over with his managing director. Who also owned the company.

We negotiated the terms under which I would earn my new salary. And in each successive salary review from then on he asked me how much I wanted to earn. And I would tell him what targets I’d reach to earn it.

When I left in 1983, I was still in sales. And was the highest paid employee. Earning more than my general manager.

My small business, The Fitz Like A Glove Ironing Board Cover And Other Goodies, is dependent on my ability to persuade others that my product range is something they want to own.

My ability to convince a new customer to pay top price for an ironing board cover requires a great deal of skill. Many skills as a matter of fact.

Skills that I’ve been studying for 38 years.

It’s a learning process that never ends.

My commitment to, and my enthusiasm for, the honourable profession of selling is unbridled. I sign up for online courses monthly. And read books on a daily basis on selling. And apply what I know to my business. So I’m becoming more polished. More knowledgeable. And more professional. All. The. Time.

I know that my ability to sell every minute of every day is paramount to keeping me in business. And is important to every customer who wants me to stay in business.

How many times has a customer – who has just worn out an 8 year old cover – rung to gasp: Oh my goodness, thank heavens you’re still in business : when the phone is answered?

Many. Many. Times.

The next time you hear the word salesperson, remember that. You. And me. And the whole world. Is in sales. Selling. All. The. Time.

Trying to persuade others about something we believe in, is what makes the world go around.

~Carol Jones, Ironing Diva❤

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Designers & makers in RURAL Australia of The Fitz Like A Glove™ Ironing Board Cover, Log Lugger, Roadworks Apron, Travel Bug Shoe Bag,
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Every product is a joy to use.