The immutable laws of selling

2 weeks ago

Like marketing, selling has an image problem. I regularly hear from freelancers and business owners who, at the mere mention of sales, seem to wilt like a dry February flower. It’s such a problem that when you search for sales on stock photo sites, you’ll always find a high proportion of cheesy, almost predatory looking dudes in suits.

What we often fail to realise is that we sit alongside sales and selling every day. And sure, the fist-pumping, ego-stroking, “ream or be reamed” style selling exists. But it’s hardly the whole ballgame.

Maybe I have my head up my bum (it’s been known to happen), but selling seems far more a gentle art than a contest in ego-wrestling.

How I sell – and what I want from a sales process – is a lot more about offering choice and exercising boundaries.

See if you agree with me.

Be dependably real

If you’re a shark in a suit, own it. If you’re doing what you do because you care, own that, too. Let the customer make an informed decision about who they want to do business with.

Be dependable.

Answer the questions:

What does my customer want from me?
How am I addressing their concerns?
Why does answering these questions excite me?
How can I make that excitement infectious?

Then tiptoe into that territory called tone of voice, think about who you are talking to, and write messages in five different ways you want to put on repeat.

Be real.

Forget the business suited voice or the algorithm’s demands for your content. Sit in your surroundings, acknowledge your place in the world, and challenge the current conditions by selling yourself as a proactive solution.

Be very much yourself.

Acknowledge that even though there might be a cleverer way to say something that sounds great in an advertising campaign, the gaps customers find between who you are and how you front the most discombobulating and off-putting when making a purchase decision.

Be clear.

Now is not the time to create extra labour or shoot off “nice to have” stuff that nobody has the brain space to care about.

Be transparent.

Reduce the risk, anxiety, and doubt by talking about:

Elephants in the room
Circumstances
What could be misinterpreted

And stop assuming clients know what to do.

Give clear instructions. Show them the benefits of taking action.

Be OK with the role of caring professional

The customer is in front of you. The pressure is real, the time is short, and the petrol in the tank is at a bare minimum.

To avoid the cold, hard feelings and dispassionate overtones of the out of touch and disconnected, adapt your messaging to the people and their prevailing conditions.

Dig a little deeper, build on what you have, but don’t think proving someone somewhere said something nice about you will get you anywhere.

Care by:

Acknowledging the current situation
Not rely on “but everyone’s doing it” as a policy or change justification
Introducing sources and safety nets as a “we’re in this together” style scenario
Noticing the customers you don’t want to lose and giving them special attention
Considering your role in connecting your customer community to each other
Not taking word of mouth, your champions, or a strategic relationship for granted

But keep it professional:

Don’t turkey-stuff the moment with extraneous, decision-fatiguing, and ultimately valueless propositions and concepts
Resist the temptation to fawn and people please when pitching, selling, or in customer service or community management
Limit the scope of how you can help to what you can practically influence
Understand you are one thing on their TO DO list, not their new BFF
Validate who they are in the scheme of things – and remind them of their value

Be aware of your economic surroundings

Gone are the days when the stiff upper lip, control mantras, and the wealth and prosperity taught by privileged, wealthy, and already prosperous people will pass the sniff test.

People are facing the burning grind of inflation. We suspect that we’re entering the death throes of capitalism.

Exercise some sensitivity and awareness about how that translates.

It’s time to have an honest relationship with your surroundings:

Reposition initial outlay as a reinvestment in the things that take the edge off. Talk about money, time, labour, and brain space savings
Talk about things like the utility of what you sell, how it lasts, compatibility to other products and services, what you sell and its backwards compatibility
Allay fears about privacy, security, and the kinds of disasters that keep customers nervous and guessing
Offer hope and optimism for a future. Don’t just be the tool they need to get through it, be a champion to get people through it

Be an equal in the trenches and a leader on the front

During economic crisis, the act of staying open says you are an ally to your customers, your industry, and everyone else in business. You are in the trenches, fighting to keep going. As they are. It’s a challenge worth connecting over.

You are also leading. Your existence is a form of optimism that a better future around the corner.

Recognising you are both in the trenches and a leader puts you at a distinct advantage.

Be visible. That relatability is in the behind-the-scenes storytelling. Sharing your challenges and what you’ve learned means you are grounded and accessible, and not in some tower somewhere cosy and dry, waiting for the storm to pass
Be a business of action. Not everyone wants to lead, but those that do act as a shield on the fields of change, carrying a loyal following behind them. There’s power to be found in tapping into customer advocacy and selling them on your role in community-activated change
Be transparent about the journey. Business as usual in unusual times can invite skepticism or resentment. And either can trigger a “they don’t need my business” sentiment. Admit you don’t have it all figured out and you’ll benefit from that transparency

Be open to who your customers are, where they are, and why they are there

Understand that everyone is struggling. Allow time for risk aversion or getting to know you better. Don’t push them to be ready for things without an understanding that any change is difficult in a world that is unstable.

But don’t let them off the hook if they baulk, either. Allowing decision paralysis and fatigue to take over is just as detrimental.

Instead, find a balance that promotes:

Self-discovery – make research easy for the solo customer, and position yourself with trusted grassroots sources for the industry
Autonomy – allow negotiation, give choices and options, DIY payment and customer service options
Safety – don’t hide your FAQ or forum-based problems. Be clear about how things work, show the path to exit, promote accessibility, remember inclusion
Dignity – focus on the client’s needs, be open about your ethics and ethical practices, personalise the value, and give great post-sales support

Be optimistic

A sale isn’t an exchange of money for goods or services.

It’s a contract that says, “this will make things better.”

Let your customer feel like they are the missing ingredient to make that magic happen. And temper it by understanding the limitations of your influence without leaving them alone to navigate tough circumstances.

Optimism in business and sales is found in:

Highlighting opportunity and a way forward from the micro scale of customer product usage to the industry and business ecosystems
Confirming the potential for change with a growth mindset and practical application of self-care through action
Leading by example. Too many businesses have adopted a “love it or leave it- here’s our price rise” mentality. That amplifies the panic your customers are feeling as the rising costs eat away at them. Instead, consider why they are suffering in the first place. Can you be generous in other ways, like with knowledge or time? Can you empower the customer to see your example of sustainable business as a personal takeaway?
Promoting change. Once you start promoting change, mindset change surely follows. And the interesting thing about a mindset change is its curiosity-invoking and protective against the sensation of being a victim of circumstance.
Empowering customers. Empowered customers act – and the way they act usually means interacting with you and opening their wallets. If you’re giving control in an uncontrollable world, that’s powerful

Final thoughts on selling

Selling isn’t about following a script to a trap a person in a deal and celebrating with a scoreboard and a bell. It’s about meeting your customers where they live and speaking their language. That means reading the room and adapting to prevailing conditions while giving us something to believe in.

And if you’re rolling your eyes about how exhausting it sounds to be optimistic, open, transparent, dependable, real, proactive, a leader, and sensitive to people and their surroundings, I get it. But be careful that you’re not leaning in on your own fatigue and stress to the point that you forget the customers are right there with you. Or even worse, courting entitlement or even a little burnout.

Need help with selling the right way?

Let me dig into your business and find the messaging you need via my Creative Change Sessions. It’s a six-hour deep dive with three parts of aftercare you can use to make all kinds of change in a compassionate and positive way.

Take the stress out of strategy and activate selling without the deep emotional labour with a Strategic Spark Program. It’s the forward-thinking roadmap you need to help plot a course to your version of success.

Join me for an hour to talk about your current problem via my Pain Point Clinic. It’s the massage for the muscle of your business that creates flexible thinking.