pleeker - 6:55 pm on Jun 30, 2004 (gmt 0)

This is a great post, stuntdubl.

I'm the world's worst salesperson, mainly because I can't stand salespeople. :) But in the end, when a prospect wants to talk, they usually end up talking to me. Honesty and knowledge (as your post suggests) are the two things I've found must be front and center.

I tell prospects that I'm not a salesperson, and that in all likelihood, they're speaking with the person that will actually be doing at least part of their project. In fact, we've made it a bragging point that "We don't have any salespeople on staff." That surely won't work for all, but I think it helps assure some prospects that we're not just looking to open their checkbook, and it often changes the tone of the rest of the conversation. And then once we get past the point of "I'm not a salesperson", the opportunities open up to confidently show off our knowledge and understanding of their needs and what we can do to help.