Worried about being too salesy?

Change Your Focus

If you have a business, then you know you have to sell something.  

It might be a class that you teach…

Or a product that you create…

Or coaching that you do.

I know a lot of entrepreneurial wannabes, that would rather eat dirt than sell something–even though they desperately want (and need!) to make money (that used to be me).

Because whatever your business is, the point is to sell stuff and make money, right?

The answer is:  Yes and no.

Because the really important thing (and the reason people will or won’t want to buy) isn’t how shiny and cool the product is.  It’s how your product solves their problem and the results they can expect.

Here are three ways to change your mindset and learn to love (yes, you read that right) selling. And eating dirt is totally optional.

Be a Servant

In his excellent book, To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others,  Daniel Pink devotes a whole chapter to this idea.  He feels that good salespeople today don’t “up-sell”,  they “up-serve”. Up-selling at best is annoying and at worst, downright despicable.  It’s the super-sizing mentality that has you walking away from the counter with an order of French fries and an apple turnover when all you really wanted was a burger.

Up-serving on the other hand is an entirely different approach. It is really listening to the customer and going beyond the expected outcome, all in the customer’s best interest, even if it isn’t in the business’s immediate best interest. Of course ultimately, meeting the customer’s needs really is in the business’s best interest because a satisfied customer will return.

Up-serving is building a relationship and honoring the customer.  Many businesses have jumped on the service bandwagon but are still missing the mark. Up-serving is more than delivering  pizza in 30 minutes or less.  It is more than hollering out a welcome to every person entering the door.  It’s going beyond and doing the unexpected. It’s remembering someone’s name and their favorite pizza toppings. It’s doing something a little extra that is surprising but appreciated.

Make it Personal

Up-serving is putting the customer first, literally.  This means taking the time to know what the customer wants and needs.  It is listening and then offering ways that your product can help.  This is very different from blindly trying to sell everyone you encounter an extra large order of fries or a set of tires just because they are on special today.

Up-serving is also being available.  It is not just learning about your customer’s needs but also being available to correct problems when they occur.  It’s a real voice on the phone not a machine.  It’s a customer service rep who doesn’t follow a script and who is understanding when there is frustration. It’s someone who has the power and the knowledge to make your experience positive and exceptional. And its doing it because that is what is best for the customer… not so that they will give you a good rating or review.

Make it Purposeful

Most people at their heart like to feel that what they do makes a difference.  This is why businesses like Tom’s Shoes and others like them are so successful.  They not only deliver an outstanding product (the first order of business) but they also make a difference in the world by turning profits into caring for others.  Tom’s shoes provides shoes for people in underdeveloped countries who can’t afford them using a one for one approach;  each pair of shoes sold, means that a pair of shoes is given away.  If you have a product that can follow their example in bettering the world, you will have an instant rapport with many of your customers. Think: What breaks your heart? What impact would you like to make in the world through your business?

If you focus on being a servant, making it personal and making it purposeful when you sell and market your product, you won’t have to worry about being salesy. And selling just might become your new love language.

You were meant to make a difference in the world.

Your business matters.

Let’s get the message out to the people who need you.