The Badass, Effortless Secret to Sales That Helps Me Make a Lot More Money
Sales is a way of life even if you don't work in sales. Here's how to rethink sales.
When I think sales I think of a dirty guy called Harry trying to sell me a used car.
I’ve worked my entire life in sales jobs. My past employers use fancy titles like business development or account director to describe the art form. It’s all just selling a product/service in return for dollars. Pretty simple, really.
But…
I’m allergic to sales.
Ask my partner. If we walk into a shop of any kind, I run for the corner of the store. I put on my headphones. I often hide behind a pair of sunglasses while in-store. Why?
Most salespeople are terrible at sales. They treat sales like marketing. They slam a business card or brochure in your face. Or they insist on a demonstration. It’s painful.
When you transform your view of what selling is, everything changes.
The Extremely Bad News
You might be reading this and think you’re not in sales. I’m sorry upfront. You are a salesperson.
You sell your romantic partner to go out with you.
You later sell them to have kids.
You sell them to get permission to buy an air fryer.
You sell the real estate agent and landlord on why they should let you rent a property.
You sell the car yard on why they should give you a discount.
You sell your boss on why they should give you a pay rise.
You sell an online audience on why they should subscribe to your email list.
Every day we’re selling. So we may as well get good at it.
The Effortless Secret To Sales
Stop selling. Give up.
We need to reinvent the idea of sales. Sales is this:
Find the problem. Once you know a person’s problem, then you have a chance of changing their mind.
Just have a freaking conversation. Because you can’t just jump in and start jamming solutions in a person’s face. You need permission. Conversations build rapport. Rapport secretly says “I trust you, tell me more.”
You talk to your friends all day about problems. Why couldn’t you do this when you need to convince someone to buy a product or take action at work? You can.
The best question to ask:
“So, what are you working on?”
This question opens up more doors than you could ever imagine. People love telling you what they’re working on. Guess what happens after they ask you? They want to know what you’re working on.
“Oh, I’m working on this product at the moment. It helps people do XYZ.”
See how it starts?
You talk to people like they’re your friends. When you remove all the sales spin, big words, acronyms, and stupid sales training corporations teach, people open up.
Add This Ingredient to Beat Any Potential Competitors
Here’s what I know: people take action based on how you make them feel.
Use inspiration in everything you do.
My aim as an entrepreneur is to inspire. When people encounter you and they feel inspired, it’s a differentiator. Most inputs we get each day are negative.
People tell you what you can’t do. And salespeople use fear to sell you an item that leaves you departing the store feeling like you just got your ass grabbed by a creep.
What if you helped people see their potential? Then you’d have people attracted to you like a magnet. We love when someone finds out potential. Especially when we couldn’t see it ourselves.
Life Experiences Help You Influence Others
Sales is really getting people to take action. When they hear stories from your life or from the people you spend time with, it gives them reference points.
Stories do all the selling for you. Learn to tell stories, not become a salesperson with a pinstripe suit and a huge ego.
Offer Suggestions, Not Solutions
The next step is to get to the point. Now you know the problem, what’s a way to overcome it or get a person to achieve a specific result.
First up, not every solution will work for each person. Assume a solution is flawed. Use the phrase “suggestions.” Listen for feedback. Solutions are marketing. Suggestions are humble responses a human can relate to.
Ask the Magic Question
Once you’ve had the conversation, built rapport, given some solid examples, inspired the person, discovered the problems, and presented suggestions, it’s time to ask them to take action.
Ask them if they have any other questions. If not, say this:
“What do you think? Would you like to proceed?”
If you don’t ask you don’t get. It’s okay to ask someone to take action.
Expect This Disaster to Happen
Most people are not going to follow through on an action after you ask them. They’re going to disagree with some of your points. They’re going to have a different view.
This is called objection handling. Objections happen when a person feels fearful to move forward. Taking action often involves unfamiliarity – it’s natural to be fearful.
This is the part where salespeople let their egos loose. Don’t do this.
Hear the person out. Understand what specific points they disagree with you on. The point isn’t to win every battle. It’s to find a middle ground on some points, and to convince them on other points.
This Is Where People Ruin All Their Good Work
You can do everything I said and still fail.
The problem is, asking once isn’t enough. The effort is worthless if you don’t follow up. If you’ve taken the time to have a great conversation and ask questions, and it doesn’t lead to action, why wouldn’t you ask again?
I learned this from writer Zulie Rane. She emails her audience asking them to take a specific action. If they don’t do it, she emails them a day later and asks them again in a slightly different way. This doubles her success rate, so she makes a lot more money as a result.
Follow up. Ask multiple times in slightly different ways.
It’s Hard to Convince People Who Will Never Be Convinced. Try This.
Not everybody will end up taking action. I’ve seen many people in my career keep trying to convince someone that doesn’t want to be convinced. Instead, move on to people who are interested in taking action. Sometimes it’s the wrong time. And certain people will string you along because they’re afraid to tell you no.
The aim is to bring people to a decision. If the answer is no that’s fine. At least you went on the journey and got the answer. Plus you had a great conversation. Conversations can lead to referrals.
For every person you don’t convince, they may introduce you to someone who is convinced. Translation: treat the noes as good as the yeses.
Takeaway
Welcome to sales. Who knew you were a salesperson all along?
Switch your thinking away from selling. Have a conversation. Ask questions. Talk to people like your friends. Find a person’s problems. Present suggestions. Expect rejections. Lower your ego when challenged. Ask multiple times. Follow up. Don’t try to convince those who will never be convinced.
When you realize life is all about sales, you start to have more conversations that lead to action. Getting people to take action helps you make a lot more money.
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