It’s Not About “Selling” to People!
5th December 2009
Confused about selling?
Judging by the number of books there are about “how to sell”, the business world must be full of salespeople and their managers who all believe that they could and should be selling more… if they only knew how.
If only they knew the right sales techniques… or had the right sales staff… or the right training… or any “if only” excuse you can think of…
But ask yourself:
- How can a book you dip into during the train journey into work or read for a few minutes at lunchtime or turn to in the evening while you’ve got one eye on the telly… how can that teach you how to “do” selling?
- How can something written by a complete stranger… who knows nothing about you or your organisation or your products/services or your customers … how can that teach you how to “do” selling?
- How can something that’s written for a mass-market… one size fits all… how can that teach you how to “do” selling?
Then there are all the seminars, conferences, training events, lectures, presentations and exhibitions that are about “how to sell”.
A lot of so-called selling experts are making a lot of money because they know that the business world is full of people who are searching for some kind of magic solution that’ll put their sales into orbit. Everyone, apparently, is looking in the wrong place. Must be, or else why do so many of them keep buying all those how to “do” selling books and attending all those events?
The starting point to getting more people to buy more of what we’re selling is to understand that
SALES SUCCESS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH “SELLING” TO PEOPLE.
What Works and What Doesn’t
In a career as a marketing and business growth specialist, I have had the privilege of working alongside lots of sales people, (some good, some bad, some indifferent!) and their managers (ditto) and their employers in all kinds of businesses, big and small, and in all kinds of trades. In both the public sector and private enterprise. I’ve been able to observe at close quarters what “works”… and what doesn’t… in creating a successful and effective sales environment.
What doesn’t work is trying to “sell” to people. What works is:
Repeatedly and deliberately creating the circumstances in which people actively want to buy what you’re offering.
Create the Circumstances
How much easier and more rewarding would your life be if you didn’t need to put so much of your time, effort, energy and resources every day into “selling” because instead you have created the circumstances where your customers and potential customers come to you. Actively, willingly and happily. Time and again. And, just for good measure, recruit their family, friends, neighbours and colleagues as additional customers on your behalf.
Too good to be true? Back in the real world you have to slog every day in order to make that sale and earn that wage?
If that’s so, maybe it’s because “SELLING” DOESN’T WORK!” And that’s no reflection on your abilities as a salesperson.
Just about everyone of us is naturally capable of repeatedly creating the circumstances in which people actively want what we’re offering.
The key is to understand how to recognize and harness that natural ability and channel it into sustaining and growing our business.
About the Author
Philip J Gwynne of The Naked Markting Company
This post has been written by guest blogger Philip J Gwynne of The Naked Marketing Company who are based in Bradford West Yorkshire in the UK. Philip is dedicated to helping business owners & managers sustain and grow their business and achieve their goals with practical workshops in “How To Get More People To Buy More Of What You Are Selling”, “How To Make Sure Your Marketing Is Working”, and “How To Be An Even Better Manager”.
For more information call Philip on 01274 413180, mob 07549 153391 or contact him by email on enquiries@thenakedmarketingcompany.com
If you would like to guest post on this blog, first read this and then contact me.
Military Schools for Boys Says:
I do agree! Don’t force people to buy but slowly introduce your product. However the world wide web is getting larger and larger competitors are hungry for it. Getting 2 steps from them is an advantage.
Learning from you could give me more awareness on how to sell products. This could give me additional information. Thanks Philip!
14th December 2009
Philip Gwynne Says:
Many thanks for your kind comments… and may I respond to your point about the world wide web getting larger and more competitive?
As you say, the web is full of companies competing hard to sell stuff to people… but the people visiting the web aren’t looking for someone to SELL to them, they’re thinking about BUYING some stuff… so they’ve probably already made a purchase decision and don’t need someone trying to sell it to them.
They are on the web because – having decided what they want to buy – they’re looking to see who has it and at what T&C. And they’re more likely to buy it from someone who’s not trying to sell, sell, sell to them, but someone who, as you put it, introduces the product to them and allows them to reach an informed conclusion about whether this is the product they want and are willing to buy.
14th December 2009