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Quiz: Are You Peddling or Selling?


There's a big difference between peddling and selling. Peddling involves convincing customers to buy something that they neither want nor need. Selling involves building a relationship that based upon a mutual understanding of what makes good business sense. Unfortunately, some sales professionals peddle when should be selling, and vice-versa. Want to know whether you're peddling or selling?

Click here to take the quiz»


There's a big difference between peddling and selling. Peddling involves convincing customers to buy something that they neither want nor need. Selling involves building a relationship that based upon a mutual understanding of what makes good business sense. Unfortunately, some sales professionals peddle when should be selling, and vice-versa. Want to know whether you're peddling or selling?

Here's the quiz:

  • Question 1: When I meet with a prospect for the first time, I:
    1. Try to get him interested in my offering.
    2. Try to decide whether it makes sense to work together.
  • Question 2: When I talk with a customer in detail, I:
    1. Figure out what hot buttons will drive buying behavior.
    2. Try to build a relationship that will mutually help us.
  • Question 3: When I present to a customer, I:
    1. Explain why our offering is the best in the industry.
    2. Explain how to solve a major customer problem.
  • Question 4: When I negotiate the conditions of sale, I:
    1. Offer a discount in order to clinch the deal.
    2. Stand firm on the offer that makes sense to both firms.
  • Question 5: When I close the deal, I:
    1. Am sweating blood that the prospect will say no.
    2. Am already certain that the prospect will buy.
  • Question 6: After I've made the sale, I:
    1. Celebrate and move on to the next opportunity.
    2. Make sure the new customer is taken care of.
  • Question 7: Two years after I've made the sale, I:
    1. Can kinda remember some guy I once sold to.
    2. thanking my customer for sending business my way.
SCORING: If your answers are mostly "1's", then you're peddling. If your answers are mostly "2's" then you're selling. Simple, eh?

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