Does your job involve "selling"?

[Maladict]

I'm talking about a situation where you have a product or a service to offer, and you are competing in the market with other people who have a similar product or service to offer, and a part of your job is to convince a customer/client that they should pick you and not someone else.

Technically yes, although in 90% percent of the cases convincing the client equals offering the lowest price.

[Martinus]

I'm talking about a situation where you have a product or a service to offer, and you are competing in the market with other people who have a similar product or service to offer, and a part of your job is to convince a customer/client that they should pick you and not someone else.

Technically yes, although in 90% percent of the cases convincing the client equals offering the lowest price.

Well, I guess I have the discomfort of working in a high end law firm when it comes to fees. So we have to compete on other things.

[Maladict]

Technically yes, although in 90% percent of the cases convincing the client equals offering the lowest price.

Well, I guess I have the discomfort of working in a high end law firm when it comes to fees. So we have to compete on other things.

I'm used to competing on other things, but these days my clients are mainly government or government-owned.
They're legally bound to take the lowest offer, no matter how terrible the proposal. And people wonder why these projects turn into such a mess every time.

[CountDeMoney]

Almost every job involves 'selling' to some degree or another, whether you like it or not.

Yup.

[CountDeMoney]

I am in government regulation of public pseudo-monopolies.  So I am several degrees of separation from anybody having to market anything.

However I guess I do have to sell my skill set to my boss, my expertise to the attorneys involved, and my professional credentials to the pseudo-monopolies who may one day want to hire me so I can one day get pay raises and promotions and that sort of thing.  But not sure that counts.

Dude, you just got hired, like, last Tuesday or something.  Are you even finished with onboarding and orientation yet?  Do you even have an ID badge and login?

[Valmy]

Dude, you just got hired, like, last Tuesday or something.  Are you even finished with onboarding and orientation yet?  Do you even have an ID badge and login?

Yeah they are lightning fast around here.  I am now reading through huge piles of court dockets and preparing testimony

'Mr. Valmy, in your expert opinion would you say the expense by Southwestern Power on the new substation justifies their requested rate increase?'

'Well they did file over 800 pages of witnesses testifying it was.  TL;DR I will just say yes'

[MadImmortalMan]

Short answer: If you think your job does not involve selling, you're doing it wrong. 

[Zanza]

No, I only work for internal customers based on their demands. They can't "buy" these services from anybody else either.

That said, change and expectation management is a huge part of my job. That's basically "selling" a solution they don't really want.

[Valmy]

Short answer: If you think your job does not involve selling, you're doing it wrong. 

'Southwestern Power Company who do you want to provide your long and expensive rate hearings?  Oh right we are the only choice.  See you in court!'

[CountDeMoney]

No, I only work for internal customers based on their demands. They can't "buy" these services from anybody else either.

That said, change and expectation management is a huge part of my job. That's basically "selling" a solution they don't really want.

The drawback is, if you don't get them to buy into your program, then you don't really have a successful program--it's one thing if they don't accept your services, but at a certain point they can start working against you, and at levels up the food chain where you never see coming.

[DontSayBanana]

Retail sales.  100% of my job is selling- 75% to the customer and 25% to management why my hours should not be reduced.  Usually fairly successful on the latter when I point out that customers typically need prodding to purchase a $600 prepaid phone (Galaxy S5) or a $350 camera that syncs up with a smartphone.

[Zanza]

No, I only work for internal customers based on their demands. They can't "buy" these services from anybody else either.

That said, change and expectation management is a huge part of my job. That's basically "selling" a solution they don't really want.

The drawback is, if you don't get them to buy into your program, then you don't really have a successful program--it's one thing if they don't accept your services, but at a certain point they can start working against you, and at levels up the food chain where you never see coming.

Yes, sure. In my current situation, political bullshit is limited to management and there is a very cooperative climate on the working level, so I don't have that problem right now. If they start political bullshit, it will start on a levels above me and also hit home on the levels above me.

[Gups]

would you say the expense by Southwestern Power on the new substation justifies their requested rate increase?'

'Well they did file over 800 pages of witnesses testifying it was.  TL;DR I will just say yes'

I feel like doing this so often.

[Barrister]

I am in government regulation of public pseudo-monopolies.  So I am several degrees of separation from anybody having to market anything.

However I guess I do have to sell my skill set to my boss, my expertise to the attorneys involved, and my professional credentials to the pseudo-monopolies who may one day want to hire me so I can one day get pay raises and promotions and that sort of thing.  But not sure that counts.

Well, that's not what I am asking for, despite Cal's "We are all whores, darling" attitude.

I'm talking about a situation where you have a product or a service to offer, and you are competing in the market with other people who have a similar product or service to offer, and a part of your job is to convince a customer/client that they should pick you and not someone else.

That's not the same as simply trying to convince your boss/supervisor/CFO to allocate money to your project.

Strictly speaking - no.  I sell nothing.

More broadly though - every single day I'm trying to convince the judge that what Im saying is right, and what the other side is saying is wrong.  It's definitely a sales job of a certain type.

[Martinus]