Last week, I taught the first workshop in a series about selling – because knowing how to influence and persuade are essential skills for navigating chaotic times. I brought together a handful of friends and taught one of the most overlooked elements of selling: being of service.
When we think “sales”, we think of a car salesman trying to persuade you that his junker is just what your family needs. We’ve all received a call from a telemarketer who won’t take no for an answer. That kind of selling gives sales a bad name.
But there’s a growing group of salespeople who are goodhearted, aligned with their audience, and want to create wins for everyone involved. These people know that great selling is about service, not manipulation.
A groundswell
There’s a quiet groundswell of people reclaiming selling.
A son supporting his mother through a cancer diagnosis. A single parent who is struggling, valiantly, to get her daughter to bed on time. A first-time entrepreneur trying to get the world to hear about his new offering.
People taking risks, stepping out on their own, and advocating for what they believe in. This is the approach to selling that we need. And one of the best illustrations of sales as service comes from an unlikely source, a classic movie about Santa Claus.
A Christmas miracle
The example I often give to describe sales as service is the Santa from the 1947 movie “Miracle on 34th Street.” In the movie, an alcoholic Santa Claus is hired to give out candy canes and sell goods for a local Macy’s department store.
The Santa – apparently not caring very much about the job description of “sell things to customers” – answers customers’ questions honestly when they ask him where to buy products that his store doesn’t have in stock. He sends them across the street to the competition!
When the department store manager finds out, he’s furious. How dare this washed out Santa Claus send customers elsewhere, instead of just redirecting them to a different product that they already sell? Until customers begin to return en masse, praising Santa’s good advice and expressing their undying gratitude and loyalty to his store, for guiding them so well.
The department store manager does an about-face, celebrating Santa’s ingenuity.
Enlightened hospitality
Even though we’ve never met, one of my early mentors was restaurateur Danny Meyer, whose thoughtful approach to service has reshaped the hospitality industry.
Danny is the founder of the New York institution Union Square Cafe, and went on to build a variety of other famous restaurants, including Eleven Maddison Park and the global Shake Shack chain.
His approach, often referred to as “Enlightened Hospitality,” emphasizes the importance of caring for employees first, then guests, and then the broader community. If we support our employees, they’ll serve our customers, and the rest will follow.
Inspired by Danny, I designed Robin’s Café to prioritize employees, creating an employee and service-focused environment.
In service to our employees
When I opened Robin’s Café, it was with the clear intention to open a coffee shop in service to our employees who, in turn, would provide great service for our customers.
One night, about six months into running my old restaurant, I came in at closing to pick up some paperwork. The employee who was closing the cafe for the night, turned to me and said, “Robin this is the single best job I have ever had. Thank you for this opportunity.”
This employee worked irregular hours in a small café, serving hundreds of customers every day with no guaranteed minimum of hours. To hear this from him reminded me – and reminds me still – of the reason Danny’s “Enlightened Hospitality” matters. It creates environments in which people will do their best work.
Serving multiple stakeholders
The most skin-crawling sales people sell exclusively for their own betterment. They only serve themselves. A successful salesperson has to at least serve two stakeholders – the salesperson and the customer.
But a sales person who serves a multitude of stakeholders is more likely to succeed. There are more parties invested in their success!
Robin’s Cafe served 5 different stakeholders:
- Employees: in creating a fulfilling, supportive workplace
- Investors: return on investment and pride in supporting a meaningful venture
- Landlord: a vibrant, community-oriented tenant
- Customers: a welcoming, enjoyable “third place,” in addition to good food
- Me: a meaningful, rewarding endeavor, both financially and emotionally
Once you have identified the different parties that benefit from your efforts, it is helpful to delineate how each one benefits from your selling.
Service is selling
When we think of restaurants, we don’t usually think first of a sales environment. But they are.
When the server asks if you’d like dessert after a meal or the sommelier asks if you’d like another bottle of wine with dinner, they are upselling – encouraging you to purchase a more expensive menu item than the one you’d intended to buy.
But what restaurants do differently is sell through the act of serving their customers. By being of service and providing an exceptional experience, they’re creating an environment that we, as patrons, are pleased to pay for.
Whether you’re selling a product, an idea, or simply persuading a friend, selling is about genuine service. When you serve, you don’t just sell. You also create lasting value for everyone.