Sales Tips and Smiles from a Cambodian Lady

Our family is on a month-long tour of Asia – a few days ago we were visiting the amazing temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It's the largest religious monument in the world dating back to the early 12th Century. The scale and beauty of these temples was truly awe-inspiring (that's a photo I took at sunrise).

We hired a guide who spoke excellent English and who was passionate about the history of the area. He told us the story behind Angkor Wat, how it had been originally constructed as a Hindu temple but was transformed into Buddhist temple, showed us hidden special carvings, and knew the names of all the Kings and Gods.

But what was really important for us was that he was able to lead us into areas of the temple that avoided any crowds so we were often alone to enjoy the peaceful splendor of this magnificent UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After we left the temple grounds early in the morning (we had been there for the sunrise at 5AM!), there were a few market stalls selling clothing, silver pots, carvings and local arts and crafts.

My daughter Olivia and I always love to have a quick poke around local markets to see what’s on offer and hunt for a quick souvenir.

Just a few seconds in and we were surrounded by the different vendors.

“Come into my shop”

“I’ve got good prices”

“Buy from me”

There were so many to choose from but there was one one with the biggest smile and the most persistence who got our attention.

We followed her into her stand.

A bit of haggling took place (of course!) and we left with a couple of new pairs of loose pants which we’ll probably never wear again back home but they sure came in handy the next day in the heat and humidity of our next temple visit.

We settled on a price of $3.50 for my new local garment but didn't have the exact change. With that the vendor gave us one last big smile and said:

“Make a Cambodian lady happy! Give me $4 instead…”

How could we resist?

She was asking for what she wanted and we gladly handed over the cash.

If you are an entrepreneur, there were many lessons to be learned from these Cambodian stall keepers:

• They are hungry for the sale
• They don’t let the fear of rejection stop them
• They are marketing where their ideal clients are (tourists love souvenirs and have extra dollars to spend)
• They ask for what they want
• They know they have just a few minutes to make the sale and then we’ll be gone so they keep working it untill the last minute
• If you don’t make an offer your prospects will just buy from somebody else
• They keep smiling

The most important of these is being hungry. They depend on their business to feed and provide for their families.

Your business is no different.

It should first and foremost provide for you and your loved ones.

What are you hungry for?

Are you ready to get out of your own way to make that happen?

We have helped many struggling entrepreneurs and business leaders turn their businesses around and get the results they have wanted for years. You can keep trying to figure this out for yourself or you can get some expert help and do it a lot quicker.

Book a quick 15-minute no obligation chat and we can help you figure out your next steps.