Get In The Game is a weekly column by Dan Yarrington, managing partner of Myriad Games in Manchester & Salem, New Hampshire, Treasurer of the Professional Game Store Association, and Editor-in-Chief of GameSalute.com.  This week, Yarrington talks about great sales technique.

Welcome back to Get In The Game, a column that focuses on proactive ways we can improve the games industry.  This week, we learn how to take pride in cultivating great sales technique.

We begin with a cultural bias against salespeople.  Let's start there.  We can sense when someone sounds like they're pitching us something, and we immediately rebel against it.  We don't want to be "sold" something.  We want to be in control of our actions and overt manipulation does not often yield the desired result.  The very term "sales" conjures up images of hucksters and used car salesmen with greasy haircuts, an over-exuberant smile, and a propensity for tricking us into forking over money for things we don't need.  That's not selling.  That's bad selling.

Very few people experience great sales technique, but when you do, it's marvelous.  Once we get away from the cartoonish imagery of what salespeople act like, we find a different story.  For good salespeople, selling is the art of matching up a buyer with the ideal product for them.  You're working for your client (whoever you're selling for), and your customer (whoever you're selling to).  You're qualifying prospects, suggesting solutions, and leading a person to a decision to purchase.  You're enriching the lives of your customers by saving them time, helping them avoid buying the wrong widget for their whoosit, and making the entire process of research and acquisition enjoyable.

As someone who sells each and every day, I find there's a certain point in the conversation where you connect.  Where the customer is hearing what you're saying and you're successfully communicating that you understand them as well.  Sometimes it takes one sentence, sometimes it takes five minutes, sometimes it takes regular monthly interactions for a year, and sometimes it just takes a smile.  Watch for that opportunity to connect; that's the doorway to great sales results.

The foundation of great sales technique is built on sincerity and knowledge.  You need to be sincere when you relate to a client's needs, which is why most great salespeople are passionate about their products. Y ou also need to know you're stuff.  When you get into detailed discussions with a client, you need to be able to answer their every question without hesitation.  Listen to their questions, ascertain their actual concerns (they may not be asking you about them directly), and then assuage those concerns by addressing each fully and honestly.

You're also selling support.  The sale isn't done after a deal closes or a transaction is completed.  True salesmanship continues beyond the purchase, with advice, support, additional recommendations, and honest assistance.  This attention is what drives great salespeople to greater heights through referrals from satisfied customers.  Each concerted effort appreciated by a customer is another potential lead to a new sale.

When you sell tabletop games, you're not just selling cardboard and plastic and wooden pieces.  You're selling fun!  You're selling the best time you haven't yet had sitting around a table.  You're selling laughs, adventures, and memories.  You're selling the opportunity to fire up the imagination and revel in whole new worlds.

Selling is not a sleazy activity nor something to be ashamed of, especially when you're in the business of selling fun!  You don't have to love every game you sell.  You don't even have to like them.  It's your job as a salesperson to ensure that your customers will love the games they buy.  Do that and you'll get folks coming back time and time again.  You'll also realize at some point that selling is not a dirty word.  It's clean and wholesome and most importantly, fun!

What are you waiting for?  Get In The Game!

The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.