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Art or science?

by joe golfer
5 replies
This article says some people say sales is more art than science.

Best sales tips for closing deals faster - Business Insider

Really?
#art #science
  • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
    Originally Posted by joe golfer View Post

    This article says some people say sales is more art than science.

    Best sales tips for closing deals faster - Business Insider

    Really?

    Selling is an art. But the reasons some things work, and others don't...is science.
    What I do looks like art. But for every inch of art, there is a mile of science underneath.

    When people sell and do the correct steps subconsciously, it's called art. But if they really understand, intellectually, what's going on...it looks more and more like science.
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    • Profile picture of the author helisell
      Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

      Selling is an art. But the reasons some things work, and others don't...is science.
      What I do looks like art. But for every inch of art, there is a mile of science underneath.

      When people sell and do the correct steps subconsciously, it's called art. But if they really understand, intellectually, what's going on...it looks more and more like science.

      Yup....agreed Claude.....

      Which is why, for years, I've been calling it a 'craft'

      Looks like art, but it's based in science.
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  • Profile picture of the author socialentry
    I think it is more art then science.

    There are rules, sure. But (good) art also has its own set of rules.
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    • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
      Originally Posted by socialentry View Post

      I think it is more art then science.

      There are rules, sure. But (good) art also has its own set of rules.
      The "art" part is what you as a person add to the picture.

      Anyone can draw a stick figure ... and anyone can sell.
      The masters of both understand and apply the science behind the art.

      I can outsell most sale people - including masters...
      (The ones I have met ...I'm sure there are millions I never met that
      can make me look like a newbie)

      ... I can't call myself a master - because I am still in the
      "understanding" phase. Maybe in another 20 or 30 years
      I might understand enough to call myself a master.

      Until then ... I'm just a guy who sells stuff
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      • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
        Originally Posted by kenmichaels View Post

        The "art" part is what you as a person add to the picture.

        Anyone can draw a stick figure ... and anyone can sell.
        The masters of both understand and apply the science behind the art.

        I can outsell most sale people - including masters...
        (The ones I have met ...I'm sure there are millions I never met that
        can make me look like a newbie)

        ... I can't call myself a master - because I am still in the
        "understanding" phase. Maybe in another 20 or 30 years
        I might understand enough to call myself a master.

        Until then ... I'm just a guy who sells stuff
        I hate modesty. Even genuine modesty. Because it blurs the truth.

        Of the thousands of salespeople I've met, you are certainly in the top ten. And Misterme is in there as well. And, by the way...so am I.

        I like your answer. The person brings the art to selling. And most phenomenal salespeople do it all unconsciously...and they would also call it art.

        But for someone who studies how it all works, and why it all works. It's science.

        It's like watching a dance. At some level, it's all physics and math. But it's beautiful, and so it's art.


        I've had a few hundred different people go with me on sales appointments. To a man, they would call what I do art...or luck. But it's science. It's all a result of trial and error...testing...adjusting....understanding the principles involved.

        Like watching a master painter create art. Underneath all of it is how the neurons fire in the brain, how the nerves reach and control the hand...How the mind recreates reality and allows the painter to create a representation.....

        Science.
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