"I can sell water to a fish." That statement says a lot about business.

[Bitcoin.com97]

Market need a good strategic planning to succeed, which environment matters , you will see same product, same quality but different amount yet the higher price will move than the lower price ,reason is the business strategy, some business men draft out their business and carry it out effortless, I have a friend who sale from home ,she orders and market at home and another who has a big shop well organized and a condusive environment,but people will choose her products more because of the ambient of the place ,them look less on the one who orders online and sale at home , meanwhile it's the same product and quality.

But I feel this topic " I can sell water to a fish " implies different things, a good marketer can convince a buyer to purchase what he or she has already, because fish doesn't need water but selling it to a fish means a lot , and it can mean some other things depending on how we viewed it .

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

Which is the better entrepreneur, one who can sell anything to anyone, or one who can make people see the value in what they already have?

While it totally depends on what's the motivation behind the selling, if it's to make profits then it's the entrepreneur that can sell you anything because what can come out of that is profits irrespective of you needing that product they're selling or not and this type of business individuals are money focused because they always want to sell their products all the time. Business is good when your products keeps getting purchased so I'll have to go with the entrepreneur or sales person that can get my goods off my hands and make me profits. Sales is quite a tricky field that not everybody can do well at. A sales man power is in their mouth, knowing what to say and how to make people see the need for something they don't really need is a talent that not everyone can have and that's what makes sales men stand out. All entrepreneurs has to be a sale person at some point in their career because they had to sell their ideas to investors to raise money to fund their company.

[hafiztalha]

I think the business owners who understands the needs of the people and what they actually need and also help them to recognize real value, is quite better than someone who just claim that he is able to sell anything to anyone at any time. Skills selling is important but it could never be confused with the ability to manipulate customers to buy thing that they don’t need.

Selling water to fish is quite impressive example but fish already have water around her so the real question is what is unique that the seller is offering. Branding and good presentation can easily attract customers. But also having quality, fair pricing and customer satisfaction is quite important to build trust. If a product fails to deliver value, then customers who buy expensive product might not return.

A good entrepreneur should communicate the limitations of the product as well. The best one is not only someone who sells anything to anyone but the one who understands customers so that he offers the right product at the right time.

[Crypto_Timothy]

Which is the better entrepreneur, one who can sell anything to anyone, or one who can make people see the value in what they already have?

A better entrepreneur for me is someone who brings value by providing a solution to a problem in his or her local environment, if i cannot sell the solution, i can certainly find someone who can sell it to people.
Nevertheless, i get the point you are trying to make and its actually good, though i wouldn't say necessary but its good to have the skill to sell your product to the public, most times people may want something but not need it and most especially not at the moment but then there is how you can package your pitch and you will convert a paying customer right there. Understanding people is an essential to being able to convince someone to buy something they dont need at the moment.

[Marvelockg]

Which is the better entrepreneur, one who can sell anything to anyone, or one who can make people see the value in what they already have?

If you are in the business of sales, your biggest strength is that you are able to sell to people even when it looks like the have alternative options to choose from. if you are in the business of providing services, yours is to ensure that you are the solution to the problem the masses and the people around you are passing through.

If you are providing solution when you are supposed to be selling, with time, you might not be needed again because the solution you have provided would have replaced you indirectly. those in sales knows that sometimes, you even need to show the people a particular problem while proffering solution to it and marketing the solution to them. As a business person, there is no need to be too emotional with systems and structures, at some point, you will have to take advantage of failed system and become the solution to it which gives you consistent sells.

[Finebone]

You may think that you are a very good seller, until you try to sell something to someone that sees no value or use to what you are trying to sell him, So yes, a fish will be willing to buy waters from your since to him it's useful and his very existence depends on it.

 Knowing how to sell is one thing, and knowing your target audience is another good quality all sales person needs to know if they wants to be successful in the market, because without knowing your target audience and you go and be advertising your products in the wrong market, you will never make a sales, no matter how good your are at selling.

[mirakal]

Which is the better entrepreneur, one who can sell anything to anyone, or one who can make people see the value in what they already have?

A better entrepreneur for me is someone who brings value by providing a solution to a problem in his or her local environment, if i cannot sell the solution, i can certainly find someone who can sell it to people.
Nevertheless, i get the point you are trying to make and its actually good, though i wouldn't say necessary but its good to have the skill to sell your product to the public, most times people may want something but not need it and most especially not at the moment but then there is how you can package your pitch and you will convert a paying customer right there. Understanding people is an essential to being able to convince someone to buy something they dont need at the moment.

Making people buy your product when they aren't that useful at the moment is a skill, more than an asset. Because people usually buy only when they are seeing current value on it, but if not, they will ignore it or decline the offer.

However, those skills and assets of a good entrepreneur, market strategies and business plans, are nothing if they can't create specific, working solution when things suddenly go wrong. Entrepreneurs are expected to offer wise decisions and solutions despite uncertainty, not to add more problem to the buyer.

[Samlucky O]

I was expecting you to explain how you can convince a fish to buy water since you know business. Or better still you should have also explain how you can convince human to buy oxygen for breathing, because If you can convince humans to start buying oxygen when they have free air to breath then I can believe that your business skill is top notch to the extent of making people see value in what is not that important. As far as I know a good business person tries to solve problem for people and get reward for it. That reward is the profit you get in that business.

You explained how bottle water can be branded and people see more reason why they need it over the regular water. But have you thought about it that how is it possible to maintain such lifestyle? For me water is water, tap water is packaged in sachet and bottles and given different meaning and people foolishly see reason why they are different from each other when they are not different.

You can only provide what people lack to make profit not changing the meaning of existing things to have a different meaning when we all know it makes no difference. Oxygen is sold to patient in hospital who lacks oxygen to survive, that is business, you will make profit because they need it. But same person can't buy oxygen when he is not lacking one. So the value of product is when people needs it and not when you force them to need it.

[M47AK16]

Which is the better entrepreneur, one who can sell anything to anyone, or one who can make people see the value in what they already have?

If you are in the business of sales, your biggest strength is that you are able to sell to people even when it looks like the have alternative options to choose from. if you are in the business of providing services, yours is to ensure that you are the solution to the problem the masses and the people around you are passing through.

If you are providing solution when you are supposed to be selling, with time, you might not be needed again because the solution you have provided would have replaced you indirectly. those in sales knows that sometimes, you even need to show the people a particular problem while proffering solution to it and marketing the solution to them. As a business person, there is no need to be too emotional with systems and structures, at some point, you will have to take advantage of failed system and become the solution to it which gives you consistent sells.

Too many people end up working towards "make something that people will want" as a sales solution. But what they do not understand is that you could literally have a blanket solution to cure cancer, and you would still not be able to convince a single person to take it if you are bad at sales.

People would just believe that you are lying and won't even do it. So believe me when I say this: there is no scenario where you are going to end up with a good result if you are bad at sales, and having a great product is not a sure thing to make money. You can be offering the best services, you can make the greatest product, and as long as you are bad at sales, you are going to end up with terrible returns without a doubt.

[Yeesha]

This may sound like arrogance or overconfidence. Why would a fish want to pay for something it already has? However, when you look deeper, it is more about understanding people, not just about wanting to sell products.

An entrepreneur who has such a perspective and thinking see that people don't just buy because they are need of something, sometimes people would also want to buy when there's convenience, trust, presentation, status or even the experience attached to a product.

People may want to pay for bottled water even when water can be available everywhere because of the presence of convenience, hygiene and branding.

An entrepreneur draws confidence from understanding human behavior. Identifying what people value can be more powerful than just knowing what you want to sell. Furthermore, about ten years of customer service can teach someone how people think, what makes them doubt, and what can ultimately convince them to buy. In addition, knowing how to present value us also key. Sometimes the product isn't the problem, but how it's presented.

It's worth pointing out that good selling is not about trucking people to buy what they don't need, it's about finding a genuine reason why your offer matters to them. The person who understands the customer has a greater play book than the person who only understands the product. You may have the best product in the market, but if you don't understand people, you may not be able to sell it.

Which is the better entrepreneur, one who can sell anything to anyone, or one who can make people see the value in what they already have?

The better entrepreneur is the one who make people see the value in what they already have. If customers realised the quality of your products, they will always come back to patronise you without you even asking. When making your products you have to ensure that it worth buying with good qualities and qualifications, because what matter most in commodity is quality and not quantity. Even if you were able to convince your customers and after purchasing the product, they find out that it doesn't match with their expectations they will never come back for it again. The way to your customer's heart is through quality production, because there is no way people will buy something when they're not in use of it.

[Moreno233]

This remind me of one of the principle of Economics that work contrary to the law of demand and supply and that is article of ostentation. It has to do with goods whose demand increase irrespective of what the supply is because people buy them for status, ego or things that makes them feel high self esteem. Their packaging and how they are presented are the things that makes them valued and in high demand. As an entrepreneur,  we can actually use this principle in our business to market our product to anyone even when they don't have real need of them.