销售的本质：把钱收回来 The essence of sales: get the money back

什么是销售？这么一个简单的问题，可能每个人都会有不同的回答。虽然很多人都在做销售，我们也每天都在买东西，但是如果要回答“什么是销售”，很多人还真难用一两句话概括出来。

What is sales? For such a simple question, each may have a different answer. Although many people are doing sales, and we are buying things every day, if you want to answer "what is sales", it is really difficult for many people to sum it up in one or two sentences.

有些人总结，“销售就是把东西卖出去”，真的是这样吗？

Some people conclude, "Sales is to sell things." Is this really the case?

如果仅仅把东西卖出去，那么最多只完成了销售的一半，还有另一半，也是最关键的一半，就是“把钱收回来”，否则卖了还不如不卖。

If you just sell things, you can only complete half of the sales at most, and the other half, which is also the most critical half, is "getting the money back". Otherwise, it is better not to sell.

东西卖出去了，钱当然要收回来，这不是废话吗？从理论上讲或许如此，销售款应该在交易完成的一瞬间入账，但是在一些国家还真不是这么一回事。

When things are sold, the money must of course be recovered. Isn’t this nonsense? In theory, this may be the case. The sales amount should be credited as soon as the transaction is completed, but in some countries this is really not the case.

在中国的传统行业里，几乎没有不相互欠三角债的，因此把钱收回来的成本并不低。做过销售的，都能深深体会过要账的难处，有时为了一笔欠款要出差跑好几次，把要账的时间成本和其他成本加进去，占到销售成本的一大块，甚至把利润都吃光了。

In China's traditional industries, there are few people who do not owe each other triangular debts, so the cost of recovering the money is not low. Anyone who has done sales can deeply understand the difficulty of requisitioning accounts. Sometimes they have to travel several times for an arrears, adding the time cost and other costs of requisitioning to account for a large part of the cost of sales, or even Eat up all the profits.

今天中国迈入信用社会，欠款不付的情况稍微好一点，但是要账的成本依然不低，即便是我们想象中的一些不差钱的大型国有机构，买起东西和服务时很爽快，付起账来就很不情愿。

Today, China has entered a credit society, and the situation of non-payment of arrears is a little better, but the cost of billing is still not low. Even some large state-owned institutions that are not bad in our imagination are very happy when they buy things and services. It was very reluctant to pay the bill.

实际上，客户都有付账拖延症，大部分公司，最后能收上来90%的销售款已经算是不错的了。中国很多给沃尔玛供货的公司，宁可忍受沃尔玛的压价，也愿意和它做生意，因为“把钱收回来”的成本低。

In fact, customers have problems with payment delays, and most companies can finally receive 90% of the sales amount, which is considered pretty good. Many companies that supply Wal-Mart in China would rather tolerate Wal-Mart’s price cuts and are willing to do business with it because of the low cost of “recovering the money”.

如果我们的目标不再是把东西卖出去，而是把钱收回来，那我们的销售策略就完全不同了，收款的便捷性要超过卖出东西的数量。

If our goal is no longer to sell things, but to get the money back, then our sales strategy is completely different, and the convenience of collecting money exceeds the number of things sold.

在美国或德国等西方国家，拖欠账款和赖账的现象也很明显，但是欧美人做事是认钱不认人，他们的做法就是加很高的利息，同时对先付账的予以折扣优惠。美国人在定价时通常会留一个比例，比如5%作为收款的成本，你如果先付账，可以省去这个成本。

In Western countries such as the United States or Germany, the phenomenon of delinquent accounts and defaults is also obvious, but Europeans and Americans do things that recognize money and not recognize people. What they do is to increase interest rates and give discounts to those who pay first. Americans usually leave a percentage when setting prices, such as 5% as the cost of collection. If you pay the bill first, you can save this cost.

如果我们将这件事再往深了想，把钱收回来是目的，而把货卖出去只是手段，这样一想，很多销售人员的做法实际上是背本趋末了。在生活中，背本趋末的做法时时可见。很多人不顾家地去挣钱，讲的理由是为了家里的幸福，其实这种做法本身就已经让家里不幸福了。

If we think deeply about this matter, getting the money back is the goal, and selling the goods is only a means. If we think about it this way, the practice of many salespeople is actually going to the end. In life, the practice of going back to the end can be seen from time to time. Many people do not care about their families to make money, the reason is for the happiness of the family, in fact, this practice itself has made the family unhappy.

持续的生意：让顾客把买的东西用光 Continuous business: Let customers use up everything they buy

很多行业在支付选择中，都有“让客户充值”的做法，对于销售人员来说，只要充值的钱进来了，他们的任务就算完成了。

Many industries have the practice of "allowing customers to recharge" in payment options. For salespeople, as long as the recharge money comes in, their tasks will be completed.

因此，销售部门制定的促销方式常常是搞活动刺激大家不断充值。但是，如果顾客充了很多钱，却无法花光，就没有动力继续充值了，接下来的销售也就难以开展了。今天大部分搞会员制的公司依然面临同样的问题，却不知道如何解决。

Therefore, the sales promotion method formulated by the sales department is often to engage in activities to stimulate everyone to recharge continuously. However, if the customer has charged a lot of money but cannot spend it all, there will be no incentive to continue to recharge, and subsequent sales will be difficult to carry out. Today, most companies engaged in membership system still face the same problem, but don't know how to solve it.

比如一家饭馆为了增加一次性的收入，会以充值1000送500的方式促销。这样虽然获得一笔流动资金，但是从长期来讲对营业额的提高却没有太大的帮助，因为顾客在花完充值的钱以前，商家很难说服他们再次充值。

For example, in order to increase the one-time income, a restaurant will recharge 1,000 and get 500 for promotion. Although this will obtain a certain amount of working capital, it does not help much in the long-term increase in turnover, because it is difficult for merchants to persuade customers to recharge before they have spent the recharged money.

一个可持续的生意关键是要让顾客把买的东西花光，否则就很难让他们第二次、第三次购买。同理，在管理一个团队时，你给员工的奖励不能仅仅是一次充值的促销，然后让他们享受很多年，而是要想办法让他们消耗掉这种物质和精神上的奖励，能够轻装继续奋斗。

The key to a sustainable business is to allow customers to spend all their purchases, otherwise it will be difficult for them to make second or third purchases. In the same way, when managing a team, the reward you give to your employees can't just be a top-up promotion and let them enjoy for many years, but you must find a way to let them consume this material and spiritual reward.

好的商品和服务"让客户有面子" Good products and services:Let customers have face

什么叫“让客户有面子”？

What is meant by "giving customers face"?

比如智能手机，它承载了越来越多的功能，消费者为了新的功能和性能就不断地更新智能手机。而面对越来越多不同种类的手机时，大家是如何挑选的呢？有人说是性价比，有人说是绝对的性能，有人说是好用，等等。其实，这些都是次要的，最重要的是有面子。

For example, smart phones, which carry More and more functions, and consumers continue to update their phones for new functions and performance. When faced with more and more different kinds of mobile phones, how did you choose? Some people say it is cost-effective, some say it is absolute performance, some say it is easy to use, and so on. In fact, these are secondary, the most important thing is to have face.

平心而论，苹果手机的性能远不如今天高端的安卓手机好，虽然很多人讲它的体验好，其实也没有确凿的证据，最多算是一些人的偏好而已。苹果手机要比同档次的安卓手机贵上50%，甚至一倍，它的配件则是贵好几倍。一些经济算不上富裕的人，之所以倾其所有求得一部苹果手机，其实是是因为拥有它有面子。

In all fairness, the performance of Apple mobile phones is far worse than today's high-end Android phones. Although many people say that its experience is good, there is actually no conclusive evidence, at most it can be regarded as a preference of some people. Apple phones are 50% or even twice as expensive as Android phones of the same grade, and its accessories are several times more expensive. Some people who are not economically wealthy, the reason why they spend all of their money to get an Apple mobile phone is actually because it saves face.

苹果生意做得非常精，它只出品几款手机，这样就让任何人在一瞬间可以拥有和精英人士同样的手机了（即便里面不同的配置会让价格相差不少）。

Apple's business is very sophisticated. It only produces a few mobile phones, so that anyone can have the same mobile phone as the elite in an instant (even if the different configurations inside make the price different).

讲到面子这件事，很多人认为这是一种虚荣，即便自己好面子，也对此持否定态度。其实我倒觉得对于社会底层的人，包括那些金钱上富有但内心精神世界永远处在社会底层的人，好面子不能算是一件坏事。

When it comes to face, many people think it is a kind of vanity. In fact, I think that for people at the bottom of society, including those who are rich in money but whose inner spiritual world is always at the bottom of society, good face cannot be regarded as a bad thing.

为了维护面子，大家做事情会比较体面。更重要的是，有了面子可以多少增加一点自信心，让人能够在工作和生活中表现得更出色些。因此，任何一个好的产品，都需要做到顾及使用者的面子。

In order to maintain face, everyone will do things more decently. More importantly, having face can increase self-confidence to some extent, so that people can perform better in work and life. Therefore, any good product needs to take the user's face into consideration.

世界上所有的人，都喜欢买东西，而不是被卖东西，因此，那种求人的营销一定无法成功。有些时候，一单生意如果做得太辛苦，就不要做了，因为能够做下来的可能性实在太低，有那时间和精力，不如去找其他客户。

All people in the world like to buy things, not to be sold. Therefore, the kind of marketing that asks for help will definitely not succeed. Sometimes, if a business is done too hard, don't do it, because the possibility of doing it is too low. With that time and energy, it is better to find other customers.

为了让顾客感觉他是在买东西，而没有被卖东西，与其说服他来买，不如讲清楚你可以给他提供什么价值，让他自己认可这种需求。我们有时在讲，创造出一个市场，其实就是让潜在的消费者认可一种过去他没有意识到的价值。

In order to make the customer feel that he is buying something and not being sold, instead of persuading him to buy, it is better to make it clear what value you can provide him and let him recognize this demand. We sometimes say that creating a market is actually to allow potential consumers to recognize a value that he did not realize in the past.

“把东西卖出去”只完成了销售任务的一半，最重要的另一半是”把钱收回来”。而持续的生意关键是要给客户提供持续的价值，一个好的产品和服务，重点是“要让客户觉得有面子”。世界上所有的人，都喜欢买东西，而不是被卖东西。因此，那种求人的营销一定无法成功。有些时候，一单生意如果做得太辛苦，就不要做了，有精力不如去找其他客户。

"Selling things" only completed half of the sales task, and the most important half was "getting the money back." The key to continuous business is to provide customers with continuous value, a good product and service, and the key is to "make customers feel worthy". All people in the world like to buy things, not to be sold. Therefore, the kind of marketing that asks for help will definitely not succeed. Sometimes, if a business is done too hard, don't do it. If you have energy, it is better to find other customers.