You hate what you can't sell
Someone I used to work with said it years ago. He was right, and it changed how I saw my own job.
"You hate what you can't sell." Someone I used to work with said that to me years ago. He was right, and it stuck with me.
Before that, I'd led a digital radiography launch. I believed in the system we sold, and one part of it wasn't the best on the market. Hardware was proprietary then: the sensor only worked with its own software. So it came as a package, and we sold the package.
There was a competitor's sensor we went up against all the time. We were sure ours was the better choice, and we said so.
Years later, after I'd left, I ran into him. He was praising that same competitor's sensor, which was now in his catalog. I reminded him how much we used to dislike it. That's when he said it.
He wasn't wrong. I'd been captive too.
The sensor hadn't changed. He hadn't changed. His catalog had, and his recommendation moved with it. I'd done the same thing in my own seat without seeing it.
When your job is to sell from a catalog, your recommendations naturally start inside that catalog. That isn't dishonesty. It's the seat.
What this means for your practice
- When someone recommends a product, ask what else they could have offered.
- A recommendation can be a good one and still come from inside one catalog. Both can be true.
- Before you decide an item is the best option, compare it across more than one source.