Selling the Sellable

This guy named Jesse at Buckle introduced himself to me. We talked about professionalism in the market place and taking pride in our job. He told me how once he went to P.F. Changs in Scottsdale and ordered food, a plate that he orders custom, half shrimp and half scallions, however this time it was horrible. He then ordered another plate and it was horrible too, two in a row.

He payed and left and went to the P.F. Changs in Tempe and ordered the same meal. He payed twice to get what he expected, in order to get the best that the restaurant had. He explained to them what happened and they gave him a lot of gift cards because of his efforts and how they were honored in his dedication to them and how he was willing to pay twice for what he wanted.

When he was at Buckle he stood for 15 minutes before anyone helped him then when he asked for help the girl didn't know anything about the products. A few days prior I was at Pac-Sun and they didn't know that a jacket I bought had sleeves that zipped off. The first girl was stunned and asked how did I know the sleeves zipped off, I said, "I looked at it", while I was pointing at it. She yelled to another girl and asked her if she knew that and the other girl was as shocked as the first girl.

People do not have pride in their product, in their jobs. How come?

When I worked in retail as a young guy people would always ask me if I got payed commission because I would push products. I prided myself in becoming an expert at our products. They would be confused that I would push one thing over another and not be getting commission. I told them there are some products we sell that I believe in and some that I don't. Based off their needs, wants, desires, comfort level and money they were willing to spend I would give them the best product that met THEIR needs, not the item that paid me based off my selling skills. It should not take commission selling in order for you to want to know about your products. Just like this picture illustrates, we must make people aware of what we know and want them to know before they are willing to make a decision.
Commission sells vs. non-commission sells changes the attitude and commitment of salesmen. Most people will become experts if they get paid based off their ability to make a sell for a given product. When I was 18 I worked in direct sales for a couple years and my pay was 100% based off my ability to move product. I made $700 in a matter of two days but then could go 2 weeks without anything. In a matter of my first week working there I became an expert in product knowledge of our product. Most people learn the power of product knowledge when their lives and income depend on it.

I am not even talking about methods of selling, how to be a salesman, how to move product or anything, I am simply talking about knowing your product!

So how does this apply to pastors/creatives/leaders? What is your product? What is it that you are pushing? Are you a professional, an expert in your product? If not, why? What is your plan to get someone to be aware of what you believe then move to the decision step?