Solving vs Selling

Hint: one of these makes people feel good

Originally published on LinkedIn May 29, 2023

A trip to Home Depot triggered a reminder about the essence of sales.

This past weekend I went to Home Depot for some glue to repair a ceramic bowl. Handmade by a dear and departed friend, the bowl had recently taken an unscheduled flight off the bathroom counter.

I'm a Home Depot regular, but on a normal visit I spend a lot of time searching. This time, thanks to the great Home Deport in-store app, I quickly found the right aisle and bay. But faced with a wall of dozens of different kinds of glue, I was frozen by significant choice overload.

Then from behind me I heard a kind voice say the best six words a person can hear at Home Depot: "Can I help you find something?"

The owner of the voice was a white-haired gentleman with an orange apron and a wide smile. I explained my need and without hesitation he went right to a specific bottle of glue. "I use this all the time," he said, "It works great. I love it!" He was so happy to help it seemed like his feet lifted off the ground. 

Not only was I sold on the glue, but I felt taken care of. Someone had given me something of themselves to help me solve my problem.

Solving problems is the biggest win in sales. Doing it with a solution you know, love, and will recommend without reserve makes for an almost unbeatable combination. It's fun, too.

A personal example: as I've mentioned before, in the early 2000's I left "straight" business and went into the guitar business for a few years. I did this because I was in love with an amplifier. I felt it was so good that I wanted other people to know. And I wanted to be a part of its success. And because I was so passionate, I could sell those amps to almost anybody. As a matter of fact, I took the company from two to twenty dealers inside of six months. For the time I was in that crazy industry, I never took on a product that I wouldn't play or use myself.

I feel the same way about ServiceNow. I know it, I use it, and I love the company.  I feel I can stand behind ServiceNow because I know it works. One reason I know this is because we use it ourselves. The company has had an "eat your own dog food" philosophy since day one. Most of our company systems are built using our own product. The benefits of this are exponential, from driving quality to increasing knowledge. It also makes it easier to sell.

Can you imagine selling software you didn't use? Selling a product you didn't believe in? If you're struggling to sell, check your passion for what you're selling. If it doesn't match up, might be time to reevaluate.

The glue worked great. The bowl turned out ok. Not perfect, but I'm glad to still have it.

Two key phrases to remember:

"Can I help you find something?" These are great words. Could be a bottle of glue. Could be something to wear to a funeral. Could be the next stage of a career. Could be a solution to a critical, enterprise-scale issue. Helping people find solutions is a great vocation unto itself. Just the words "can I help you" are something we all need to say more often.

"I use it myself!" I use this glue; I play this amp; we run our own business on our own software. If you can stand behind what you're selling, your job will be easier. Getting hands-on will bring you many returns.