At its heart, sales is about figuring people out: 

Great salespeople don’t push products. They listen. They solve problems. And they do it all by providing solutions that are worth more to customers than they cost. This is not merely the essence of recruiting lifetime customers, it’s the only way to build durable relationships with suppliers, shareholders and employees. Listening for ways to solve others’ problems is a key to sales – and to leadership.

As motivational speaker and sales guru Harry “Zig” Ziglar used to say, “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.”