Often times when the conversation of sales and persuasion comes up, individuals that vibrate off the same frequency as the average Joey-boi easily become intimidated and even turned off to a degree.
Whereas when the same topic comes up, among high performing entrepenuaers like yourself, a blend of ideas, excitement and enthusiasm comes to life!
Huh, interesting? Wonder whose racking in those extra coins?
Despite which group you may find yourself in, we can all be clear here. Sales keeps the economy going and hey without it, we’d be back to the beginning of Q2, 2020. Definitely not trying to go backwards, right?
Ok so now that we’ve established that fact, let's take a step back and better understand why some of us may be intimidated by those who are naturally witty and quick with their sales strategies? Are we afraid that they may rip us off in some way or that they may sell us on a high ticket item that we realistically couldn’t afford, but didn’t have it in us to walk away from?
Regardless of the reasons that may contribute to our once perceived limiting beliefs about those who can sell with their eyes closed, we must accept the fact that there is much more that we can learn from them, than we may think.
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Take a second to think about this.
Doctors sell medications, medical procedures and improved healthcare
Banks sell faith and trust; so you can store your cash with them n not elsewhere
Schools sell you their idea of what success means
Beauty salons sell you on what beauty looks like to them, not what beauty looks like to you
Religious organizations sell you on community and kinship
*Notice the underlined words aren't just words to the professionals in these industries, they are the products that keep their businesses alive ;)
Regardless of the profession or business, keep one thing in mind-there’s always a transaction going on. Now whether or not we realize it? Thats up to us. -Its our responsibility to take note of the transactions around us and from there determine if we want to be on giving or receiving end.
So this thought of being against or not a fan of those who’ve mastered the art of sales, doesn't just stem from one or two experiences you’ve had. Chances are, it stems from a limiting belief that you’ve unconsciously picked up along the way.
You’ll also notice that with the small list above, the underlined words don't always cost you money upfront, but best believe they will down the road.
*Let’s just hope you’ve already placed value on your soul, your relationships, your health and other priceless valuables that when transactional opportunities come up they don’t mislead you in anyway
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So what is sales really about? Are we just selling a product and/or service in exchange for monetary gain? Yes, but there’s more much to it than just that. You see, sales is about providing a solution to a problem.
Remember: with every problem comes a solution, right? Now being the solutions-oriented entrepreneurs that we are, let's ask ourselves what problems are we really helping solve for our client base? What concerns are we helping alleviating for them? Why do they need us?
A major part of sales is dependent on the need in the transaction. If your client doesn't feel they need what you’re providing, then we got some work to do my friend. Lets go back to the drawing board and figure out a better approach to tackle the problem we’re trying to solve fro our target audience. Or hey, we may even have to adjust who we decide to market?
Let's drill through some questions I like to cover when helping other high performing entrepreneurs like yourself gain some clarity and momentum in their businesses.
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This’ll help uncover where there’s money being left on the table:
1.
a) What problem do you want to solve?
b) WHY do you want to solve that problem?
2.
a) Who is your target market?
b) WHY is that your target market?
3.
a) What are you selling them?
b) WHY are you selling them that product/service?
4.
a) How do you gain the attention of your audience?
b) WHY do you think that strategy has worked or hasn’t?
5.
a) Where do you sell your products/services?
b) WHY are your products/services listed there?
6.
a) When do you sell your services most?
b) WHY do you sell most of your products at (time frame) and not at (time frame)?
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Ahhh, what a powerful word. You notice how I asked for you to explain your reasoning behind each aspect of your business? Take not that you can dig even deeper and followup with why you’ve hired certain people onto your team, why you’re passionate about the purpose behind your business and so forth. You see, the purpose you place behind each and every decision you make inside and outside of your business-will determine the value behind that same outcome.
Take a second to think about that.
We’ll come back to this.
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Now can we agree that we’re all selling something at all times? So does that makes us all sales professionals to a degree? Yes, to the first question and yes to the second. You see despite what your professional title consists of, we are always selling one and/or all of these three:
A product
A service
Yourself
Often times, you are selling all three of these at the same time. But again, this really depends on what the transaction consists of and where your place is during that sale. Here are some examples;
1. You’re the owner/operator of a photography business; often times wearing multiple hats. You sell your work; as in you are your own sales rep and you provide the service as well.
Q: What’s being sold here?
A: The product-the photos; the service-the photoshoot experience; yourself-the photographer
2. You are the sales rep at a tech startup; managing your book of business. You run sales calls
with prospective clients, get them signed and then pass that new client to another department
to onboard.
Q: What’s being sold here?
A: The product-the technology that you’re selling and yourself-the person who is the face/
presenter of the tech product
3. You are the manager at a Mexican restaurant; with 10 staff working under your leadership.
You train them on their job responsibilities, help where its needed and serve as the face
leadership and trust to both the restaurant customers and employees.
Q: What’s being sold here?
A: The product-trust and leadership; the service-employee training and themselves, which
would consist of all the personality traits and worth ethic that comes with the package
So is it fair to say that we are all selling, in other words exchange something of value to another in hope of receiving something else of equal value?
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Now when you think about sales, what comes to mind? Can we agree that sales is really just the exchange of valuables? *Take note that what’s valuable to someone, may not be valuable to another. So it's important to determine what you find value in and cater your business towards groups of people that will also find value in what you bring to the marketplace.
You may be asking,
“Ok Bauer, I get it. We’re all in sales to a degree, but how can I get better at convincing my target audience of the value in my product?”
Ok, well can you honestly say that you answered the above six questions? Ok if you’ve already done that, let's take this up a notch and dig a bit deeper.
Whenever I’m asked what differentiates a stellar sales professional from one who I’d put into the beginner’s league, a number of attributes come to mind. Yes, these are the top five attributes that anyone who can successfully sell like and artist knows well of. Yep, these aren’t products, not services and no we sure wont be naming any names here either.
1. Self-awareness
2. Integrity
3. Confidence
4. Growth focused
5. Humility
Let's break this down some more.
Self-awareness is one’s ability to see past the social conditional and see through to the gold that lives from within. In other words, a person who has covered some basis on what self-awareness really means will be more than ok with digging deep within themselves to find what their true strengths as well as what they areas of improvement are. They have embraced the life long journey of self-discovery and have turned that into one of their most used habits. They think along the lines of being a student to life itself and have made total peace with that.
Someone of integrity is also known as someone who seeks and is truth. By this I mean this is a person who holds honesty as one of the most valuable assets in life. They know that honesty begins from within and if they can trust themselves(first), they are more likely to trust others and therefore others will more likely trust them in return. It becomes a never ending circle of honesty, where trust operates as the foundation of every single relationship they encounter-both inside and outside of themselves.
Confidence as many of us know is the belief in oneself. But the champions on this field take this a few steps deeper. This is where someone truly finds the value that lies beneath the skin. They understand who they are at their core and know what they bring to any table. They have worked on their own struggles from the past, made peace with them and have only retrieved the needed lessons to guide them forward. Value peeps value here, so someone with authentic confidence will easily read another of same caliber.
An individual who is growth focused has their head on right. They are solutions oriented and know that with every so called “obstacle” always comes along with it a solution. They are seekers of these solutions and serve as guides to just that. Being the natural problem solvers that they are, they find themselves doing the same for others-often times without expectation in return. They are positive and optimistic and allow that to guide them in every single encounter of life.
Someone who can embrace the skill of humility, is one who comes in one of the most truest forms. These individuals know they aren’t any better than anyone. With the same token, they sure aren’t worse than anyone either. They seek value in themselves, as they do in others. They don’t ever see the need to showcase their skills, talents or finances-unless there is an opportunity to inspire others-and other that. They see the similarities between all beings and give others the benefit of the doubt, by still making their own decision based on a conscious place of discernment.
Known anyone who excludes all five of these top five qualities?
Shadow them. Learn from them. Be inspired by them. Remember there is no competition here my friend, there’s more than enough for us all to be operating in the millions. Growth and inspiration is all around us. Then again, we will find it only when we look for it.
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Want a more in depth explanation of everything we covered today? Cant wait for version 2.0 of this series to post? Be sure to go check out my book Conscious Money here. It’ll help get you started in the right direction. You’ll find value in yourself(which has been there all along) and hey you’ll learn how to rack in a few extra coins along the way.
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Until next time my friends, keep your head up and know that whatever “obstacle” that comes your way throughout your business journey, its really just a blessing in disguise.
XO
-Bauer
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