Author Topic: Are Mustachians Bad Salesmen?  (Read 2607 times)

OccamsPhaco

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Are Mustachians Bad Salesmen?
« on: April 10, 2018, 10:13:34 AM »
Been reading through this subforum, and it seems like the general undercurrent is to keep plugging away as an employee until you can get out and do whatever. There are a few unabashed entrepreneurs who post like they can't help but starting new businesses, but lots of people are just looking for little side hustles or passive income.

My question is this: does a hard anti-consumerism bent make a person a worse salesperson? My wife worked in a high end gift shop for awhile, and when I'd go visit her, I was actually horrified by people who would drop in on a whim because they were bored and buy a $500 coffee table bowl or some crap. I personally hate talking with salespeople of any kind and would always prefer online shopping or finding what I want in an empty store with no one trying to upsell me on shit I don't want.

This extends to my career. I'm an ophthalmologist who could pretty easily get heavily into cosmetic procedures (Botox and fillers and eyelid surgeries and even selling dubious creams), but I feel that most all of it is a waste of money which makes it hard for me to sell it to my patients. I assumed as a doctor, I'd be fixing what is broken, and not breeding insecurity in people to separate them from their money.

So how do those of you in sales square these ideas? When you think the vast majority of what people buy is wasteful or nonsense, how do you convince them to buy it?

e34bb098

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Re: Are Mustachians Bad Salesmen?
« Reply #1 on: April 10, 2018, 11:51:09 AM »
So how do those of you in sales square these ideas? When you think the vast majority of what people buy is wasteful or nonsense, how do you convince them to buy it?

You have to remember that it is not wasteful or nonsense to them if it aligns with their values.  They are not my values, because I value freedom more than a $500 tchotchke or whatever.  But if they like stuff more than their time, that is their business.  It's a salesperson's job to help them get the most bang for the buck, and make the best decision.  Not preach at them.

OccamsPhaco

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Re: Are Mustachians Bad Salesmen?
« Reply #2 on: April 10, 2018, 12:20:04 PM »
So how do those of you in sales square these ideas? When you think the vast majority of what people buy is wasteful or nonsense, how do you convince them to buy it?

You have to remember that it is not wasteful or nonsense to them if it aligns with their values.  They are not my values, because I value freedom more than a $500 tchotchke or whatever.  But if they like stuff more than their time, that is their business.  It's a salesperson's job to help them get the most bang for the buck, and make the best decision.  Not preach at them.

That makes enough sense. What I've tried to remember in the past is that if they don't get something from me, they'll probably still buy it elsewhere, so it might as well be me. Which works well enough for home decor and what have you. I think in medicine it feels more like abusing a position of authority, maybe.

Glasses are another big example in my line of work. I think optical shops are rightfully dying and are a massive waste of money, but many patients prefer to get their glasses from their doctor. I could probably greatly increase optical sales if I pushed patients to buy from us, but I don't even get my son's glasses from our clinic because it's cheaper online even with a heavy discount for working here.

plantingourpennies

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Re: Are Mustachians Bad Salesmen?
« Reply #3 on: April 10, 2018, 12:29:35 PM »
You're thinking of sales in a pretty narrow way-B2C retail stuff.

There are lots of different types of selling. I made the majority of my income in B2B tech sales and it was incredibly beneficial for my net worth.

It was highly lucrative, but I also didn't want to spend anything because I knew how hard I had to work for it!

Fishindude

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Re: Are Mustachians Bad Salesmen?
« Reply #4 on: April 13, 2018, 12:50:31 PM »
Having hired, fired and managed quite a few sales people for +/- 30 years I have found that penny pinching tightwads are terrible sales people.   The best sales people tend to be those that want it all now.   Folks that want the Harleys, the boats, the fancy houses, fancy cars, etc. require a high income and that is the kind of folks that will make sales happen, because they have to have the money.   A guy that has no debt, very little personal needs, a big nest egg etc. isn't too upset when he loses a sale because the income from it doesn't really change his life at all.

bwall

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Re: Are Mustachians Bad Salesmen?
« Reply #5 on: April 13, 2018, 01:26:37 PM »
The best sales people tend to be those that want it all now.   Folks that want the Harleys, the boats, the fancy houses, fancy cars, etc. require a high income and that is the kind of folks that will make sales happen, because they have to have the money.

+1

I agree with the observation, but in my experience, the causality is a bit different.

ketchup

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Re: Are Mustachians Bad Salesmen?
« Reply #6 on: April 13, 2018, 03:14:39 PM »
My GF runs into this a little sometimes.  She's self-employed selling something that nobody needs (she's a showdog portrait photographer of all things).  She's passionate about the artistic side of her work, but she still feels weird sometimes charging money for it.  But it helps knowing that almost all of her clients have WAY more money than us, and spend WAY more on other dog show shit anyway.

profnot

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Re: Are Mustachians Bad Salesmen?
« Reply #7 on: April 14, 2018, 12:43:18 PM »
OP -
I knew a plastic surgeon who fixed broken noses.  He got the clients by working with someone at the insurance company for worker's comp cases.

Correcting deviated septums could be wonderful for those suffering from allergies.




OccamsPhaco

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Re: Are Mustachians Bad Salesmen?
« Reply #8 on: April 16, 2018, 01:19:24 PM »
It depends what I’m selling, not all selling involves selling things you don’t think people need.
It’s very easy to sell something when you truly believe it will benefit the person.

Mustachians sell ETFs like pros.

I can sell LASIK to damn near anyone because I believe in it. I've done it on family members (including my wife), and the most recent data shows the complication rates are lower than typical contact lens wear AND it saves money in the long run. No brainer.
Cataract surgery is that same way. If your vision is impaired due a cataract, I can fix that. If you want to get out of your glasses/contacts at the time of cataract surgery, I can do that too. Easy to sell because the data backs it up.

A beautiful, young lady in my office asking for Botox without a wrinkle on her face rubs me the wrong way, and my reaction is almost certainly costing me money. But that's ok.