by Roy De Souza

Created on: August 01, 2010

The question of whether customers buy or whether salesmen sell is an interesting one because it all comes down to the fact that both have an active role as well as a passive role. Can customers buy if there are no salesmen to sell? No, because you cannot buy what is not on sale. Can salesmen sell if there are no customers to buy? Again, no, because you would not have anyone to sell to. It all sounds a bit convoluted but, when considered carefully, one can see that if both salesmen and clients are interdependent, the client has the upper hand because the final decision on whether to buy or not rests with him.

His decision can sometimes depend on the ability of the salesman, including the latter's ability to create a positive atmosphere, as well as on the simple ability to describe his product well. Even if the salesman knows his product well, however, this does not guarantee that the client will buy his product. This is where everything depends on the client and the salesman can only watch and wait.

It sometimes happens that a customer is looking for a product and is only interested in obtaining it. The greatest propaganda in the world will not make him change his opinion and maybe go for another product from another manufacturer. In this case the salesman can only prepare the invoice and exchange a few pleasantries with the client. Again, the client is the final arbiter.

The phrase 'the customer is always right' has been with us for centuries and emphasizes a fact understood by generations. An often tacitly understood addendum to the phrase is 'about the use of his money.' The phrase once again underlines the fact that customers are the ones who buy while salesmen sell.

The use of a super salesman called 'the closer' in big purchases emphasizes the fact that the role of the salesman is limited to pointing out the details of a product while it takes a professional to actually finish the sale. He limits himself to this role and makes use of his years of close contact with customers and applies this knowledge to get the customers to close the sale.

The customer, in the final analysis, is the one who parts with his money while the salesman is he who has to see that this happens. The salesman has to do his best to sell a product, hoping that the customer will buy, while the customer has to see that his money is well spent.

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