Sales is not a dirty word ..

Too often, sales is characterized by the image of the Hawk swooping down on the pigeons. This characterization makes us less effective, even feeling guilty as if we are coercing people to make a purchase they really do not want.

If f you feel like you are in a position of coercion? You are selling the wrong goods or services . “ Selling” is about offering a great opportunity. You are educating and informing someone of a benefit they are missing out on . You are doing them a favor; enlightening, enhancing, enriching their daily life.
Once you begin to look at sales this way, you can be confident, excited, and empowered to assist someone . You should be enriching their lives, bringing something positive to their attention . When you watch a great Netflix show, find an amazing restaurant, or attend a great event and you let your friends know about it or suggest they try it out, this is a pure example of “selling”.
To enhance your skills, try writing down what exactly the benefits are, and the characteristics that make your product, service, experience truly worth buying . What are the negatives? Is the cost worthy of the purchase?
When selling fitness club memberships I compared monthly membership to their morning coffee ... if they put that $5 dollars/ a day toward their health and fitness instead ? Would it be a benefit? Would it be worth it?
We often have to make decisions of where to allocate our funds, is your offering worth that trade off? Why?
If you find yourself unable to answer those questions of value? You may be “selling” the wrong product or you are approaching the wrong audience. Selling should come easily and naturally, if not? One of those two factors may be in play.
You need to be passionate about your product or service in order to represent it. If you are not? Consider changing jobs, or products. Without passion you will have a much harder time selling and most likely won’t be too successful anyway.
Finding goods and services you find valuable and able to sell to others is important to your success.
It’s a big world with billions of perspective clients to provide meaningful experiences, services, and goods to. It’s worth a moment of your time for a little self introspection to find out if what your selling matters to you. If it doesn’t you will most likely find it difficult and challenging to sell it to others . The belief in the quality and value should be authentic. It is only when approached from that level will you feel good and be successful in selling it.
Once you establish you do feel an authentic value and meaning for what you are selling, enlightening others to the benefits shouldn’t be that difficult. Demonstrate that passion, support your reasoning and show someone how they can move toward a purchase.
Many people are adverse when it come to sales. Many feel shy when trying to ask someone to say yes to a buy. You may have a fear of rejection? Or just don’t feel comfortable asking. That’s merely your internal conversation. If you truly believe in what you are selling and that your product or service has purpose and value, share it with others. Don’t be afraid of a “no”, everyone will not want your offering ( unless you’re pizza), and that’s fine. Even Pizza will get a no from a gluten intolerant person. It’s okay if people say no. Don’t take it personally, it’s not about you. They are rejecting the proposition not you personally. Learn to ask questions when rejected. “ Why” did they say no? This will give you greater insight into who your product is right for, and further qualify your audience. You will learn more about the values of what your selling and who it’s right for, so next time you can offer more information or pursue a better candidate that would benefit from your offering. You get a lot more no’s than yes in sales so a thick skin is a requirement. Just remember, it’s not about you personally although charm and charisma do go a long way. There is a whole art to bonding with clients and authentically engaging with them. More on that subject next time ... Au Revoir