We had played the Groo Card Game, and he'd been thwarted by the TM
The Apostle Paul spoke of running the race in such a way as to win the prize, not as a casual participant.
The Scriptures also say, "whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might".
Play to win. It makes sense.
But what is the definition of "winning"? It varies. And it takes ongoing thought and wisdom (Ps. 111:10, Prov 9:10) to determine what is a real "win" in any given situation. The ultimate win is peace with God, to be in his favour because of the finished work of Christ alone. But what is "winning" for a Truck Merchant?
I've been deeply interested in salesmanship and the theory of selling since my early twenties. As a Salesperson, what is the ultimate "win"?
Jeffrey Gitomer points out that customer satisfaction is worthless, but customer loyalty is priceless. The true win for a salesperson is forming a relationship in which a customer truly (and appropriately) trusts you to match them with products/services that will truly meet their needs and desires. To be the go-to person for those products/services, the one they choose over the competition. To win as a salesperson is to achieve the position where a customer considers it more important to deal with you than to obtain any particular individual product or service. For a Truck Merchant, the ultimate goal is to so care for customers that they'll prefer to choose me + any given truck, rather than choosing a specific truck + any given salesperson.
My belief is that winning in this setting is not achieved by many of the 'old school' selling paradigms I've studied. Masters of the outdated style depended on 'closes', selling systems, and techniques-- Tom Hopkins, Zig Ziglar, Charlie Jones, for example. While I have enjoyed their work and value what I've learned from them, in order to work today, their techniques require a foundation of something that other trainers articulate and teach more thoroughly.
Winning, to me, is achieved through sincerity, transparency, attentiveness and respect. While I work to increase my knowledge of trucks, I'll never know more than Google can quickly help me research. While I value the effectively worded phrases which help couch ideas and proposals in palatable terms, I cannot and don't wish to persuade against a person's will. I believe that working with a customer's autonomy, encouraging it, pointing out reasons for a customer to think twice, even thrice, or more, is a way to more solid deals and long-term trust. In this I believe I'm more of the school of Gitomer, Vass, Camp and Willingham.
This week I received a visit from a truck shopper who had been to see me two previous times with his wife. They'd been looking up and down the lower mainland for a vehicle, and the wife had finally had enough: she couldn't endure vehicle shopping any more. The husband came to me that day for one purpose: to tell me that they'd decided to buy from me, and they'd choose one of a few vehicles I had available. Which one wasn't all that crucial. He said to me "there are salespeople, and there are salespeople. I came in today to tell you that you're the nicest salesperson we've ever met, and you win the race."
In truth, the pending sale of the truck is secondary to me. The most exciting thing is that I played to win-- played in a way that is congruent with my inner being-- and succeeded.
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