Let's Take the Fear and Mystique Out of Selling!

Face it â€" nobody likes cold calling. Most of us cringe when we hear these words â€" we tend to conjure up visions of a vacuum cleaner salesman reaching in and pouring cigarette ashes on the rug before we can get the front door closed.

In recent years, many small businesses have been founded on the premise that the World Wide Web will make personal selling obsolete and unnecessary. The truth is: unless your product or service is cutting-edge with few competitors, you will have to sell it! And by selling it, I am not referring to impersonal Website selling; we’re talking belly-to-belly, folks!

Listen, I realize that some of you get nervous at the mere thought of having to “cold-call” strangers. But wait - this isn’t so scary as you might imagine. Let’s evaluate a somewhat “softer” side of selling from a systems perspective.

The plain truth about selling is: we all do it. You do it. I do it. Your significant other does it. And believe it or not your kids use selling techniques on you all the time. Anyone who has accomplished anything in his or her life has had to sell people on an idea or the value of a project in order to get there. That’s right â€" they sold someone on the idea of helping him or her. The problem is that in our society we have a skewed idea of the true value of something that in reality we use all the time! The truth is: selling is an accepted and necessary social activity, when conducted in an honest, straightforward way.

Before we can begin to develop a systematic approach to selling, we must come to terms with the following truths:
1.Selling is a necessary activity that creates value for both seller and buyer.
2.You should not try to sell to someone who doesn’t yet see need or value in your product or service.
3.Trust and confidence are the most important components of the selling relationship. They are a challenge to obtain and remarkably easy to lose.

Let’s take a look at each of these in turn. To begin with, you must believe in the value you and your product or service can provide to your clients. If you don’t believe in your own value, you won’t come across as sincere when you talk to people about it. People don’t buy anything from insincere people. So if you feel that salespeople in general are simply devious predators, get over it! The truth is, selling is a necessary and vital activity that brings solutions together with problems to the benefit of all concerned. You are an expert in your field â€" a problem solver. Think of yourself as a vital component of your potential clients’ chain of success. Doesn’t knowing this foster a more positive self-image than that of a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman with a can of ashes? (My apologies to vacuum cleaner salespeople everywhere!)

Now that you see yourself as a problem-solver rather than a salesperson, let’s look at truth number two. We’ve all heard sales trainers stress that you must convince prospective customers that they need your product or service. While it is true that most people have problems that require solutions, it’s also true that folks simply don’t like other people they don’t know telling them what the right solution is. I stress the phrase, “people they don’t know.” This is key, and an important component of truth number three, which I’ll address in a moment. So how do you get prospects to see the value in your offering? Answer - try a more collaborative approach. Begin by striking up conversations with potential clients in neutral situations. Examples of neutral situations include meetings of fraternal (Rotary, Kiwanis, Jaycees) and trade organizations (your industry or professional specialty probably has several of these, possibly with local chapters), which you should join if you are truly serious about growing your business; business “meet & greets”; community volunteering opportunities; and certain family events like your kids’ sports and extracurricular activities. These are all opportunities to meet local business people who have problems that will benefit from your solutions.

I know â€" you don’t want these new acquaintances to think of you as one of those (see “can of ashes”) people. However â€" and this is important â€" if you want to be successful, you must be continuously promoting your business. No one will do that for you, unless you can afford a public relations officer and an expensive ad agency. Accept this as a fact of business life.

So how should you approach someone in a neutral environment? First of all, get to know the person personally. Try to find a common personal interest you can discuss together. After all, you’re both at this event, right? So you may have more in common than you think. Next, ask the other person what they do for a living. Try to draw them out and get them to be specific. Asking leading questions and listening actively will help you determine if your product or service is applicable to their situation. If it isn’t â€" well, you’ve at least possibly made a new friend and confidant, and what’s wrong with that? If you do find that your new contact might be a problem you can solve, don’t jump on them with anything that smacks of “sales pitch” at this point â€" you’ll just turn them off. Instead, explain briefly what you do and take this approach: ask the new contact if you can meet them (over lunch, golf, tennis, in their office, racquetball, dinner, or whatever works) for a few minutes to get their thoughts on what they think of your business and your approach. Don’t sell- instead ask for a little consulting help. Make them feel that you genuinely value their advice.

Once you have set up the meeting, show up intending to involve the other person in your business. Let them get to know you personally first by sharing personal information about yourself. This begins the process that is brought to light in truth number three: trust and confidence are what get you new business â€" not hard selling skills. Whether you know it or not, by allowing the prospect to get to know you a little, you’ve already begun the selling process. Keep it soft â€" don’t pressure your prospect too much. At the same time, be listening for opportunities to show him or her what your capabilities are. Be ready with testimonials: stories of projects you’ve worked successfully that mirror your prospect’s situation. People like stories; they add credibility and make it easier to relate problems to solutions. Draw out the prospect â€" remember this rule: if you’re talking, you’re not selling. Become an active listener. Successful salespeople only do 25 percent of the talking in a sales interview. Now that you have established rapport and begun to develop a personal relationship, it’s much easier to discuss the solutions you are selling and relate them to problems your new acquaintance may be experiencing. This is not so scary, is it? Here’s a recap of this client-generating “system”:
1.Join business and professional organizations and get involved in their activities. In addition, be aware of the potential for making contacts in other social situations.
2.Approach the people you meet as a person who is worth knowing personally first. Invite them to get together socially in a neutral place.
3.During the meeting, strengthen your personal relationship before getting to business.
4.Next, ask them what they think of your business; ask the prospect to act as a casual “consultant” to your business.
5.Once you’ve established a personal relationship, the trust you’ve nurtured makes it much easier to talk with them about the business solutions you are prepared to offer.

For small business owners, new business development can be a daunting task. Taking a low pressure/ non-aggressive approach toward developing new clients can be quite rewarding; it certainly is considerably less threatening for both you and your potential clients. It also makes more sense than the hard sell, “ashes on the rug” approach we all know and dread. Next time, try the friendly approach â€" I think you’ll be surprised how effective it can be.

Brian Cushing is a sales trainer, college professor, and author; his firm, Peddlesmarter.com, helps small businesses develop and manage new customer relationships through promotional and sales training activities. Contact him at: boxstep052@sbcglobal.net