It’s ironic that the secret to great success in business lies in service first, rather than focusing on the money. Interestingly, this is a heart-centered, soft sell sales approach. In the past two weeks, I’ve heard several incredibly successful people point out that if you want to really grow your business, you need to serve first, i.e. give something of value with no expectation of return, before you begin to think of selling. Harvey Mackay, six time best selling business book author; Stephen Pierce of Stephen Pierce International; and Bill Walsh of Powerteam International also gave advice related to putting the other person first.
So the strangest secret to business success comes down to a heart-centered, soft sell sales approach. Give service first. Provide value. Find out about the other person and her concerns. When you have shown sincere concern and developed trust, then you will find your prospect receptive to talking business. When you connect with others as people instead of wallets, you build relationships that make selling fun, fulfilling and mutually [...]
Some days you get pleasant surprises. This past week that happened to Dorothy and me. We attended a two day seminar to learn about how to invest in any market, i.e. whether the stock market goes up, down or sideways. It was put on by Wealth Magazine and Investools Investor Education, TD Ameritrade companies. While we learned a lot at this seminar, the most significant part for me was that I got to witness a presentation by a heart-centered, soft sell seminar company firsthand – they do exist!
Our presenters were dynamic and informative while using every opportunity to make sure we understood the value of continued education. In other words, they were selling their additional investor education courses. Where they impressed us most was that they demonstrated a soft approach to promoting their seminars. In our previous experience, a major real estate investor’s training company put us through a hard sell for three days. Participants were intimidated into meeting with their salespeople. They even told us how to apply for additional credit cards so that we could take their classes.
The difference between hard sell and soft sell lies in your priorities. When your primary consideration is your commission and profits, you are operating from a hard sell mentality. When your primary consideration is considering your prospects’ best interests and then, when it is right for them, helping them buy, you are demonstrating a soft sell [...]
This past week, I watched a video of our youngest granddaughter that Ian posted on Facebook. He captured her as she made her first efforts to stand. What a treat! She was so proud of herself and excited as she wobbled trying to learn balance. She had a good grip on the pole she’d used to pull herself up. She’d let go with only one hand just pleased as could be. Naturally, daddy heaped praise on her too.
I often think about the parallel in sales and marketing to infants learning to stand, walk and talk. It fascinates me that infants are risk takers. Survival demands it. When we learn to stand and then to walk, we spend more time falling than we do standing or walking. Yet somewhere along the line we forget that all life’s activity takes failure to succeed at new skills. This is true especially true in sales and marketing. The more complex something is, the more failure we’ll have to deal with. Good sales ability involves numerous skills, each of which we must master. [...]
|
Invitation to Opt-in for Free Ecourse
Testimonial for Bonus “9 Steps to Finding Prospects” “These 9 Steps to Finding Prospects Who Want What You Provide are exactly what I need at this point in the startup & growth of my business. Keep them coming.
“I now see that the Sales Consultant website I suggested you look at was slanted too much toward "what he can do", even though he claims to be a Sales guru. Last time I looked at it there was "too much to read" as well.”
Dave (last name withheld at client’s request)
Business Coach & Consultant
Testimonial – CMTC Senior Consultant I have thanked you many times for the quality of reports that you provide to my clients. I truly feel you are adding value to the SMA - Program but more to my own job as a Consultant and point of contact to our clients. I really hope you will never lose your inspiration in performing outstandingly on providing the best quality you can offer to others.
Paula Bahamón
Sr. Consultant
CMTC - Los Angeles Region
Grid Controls Testimonial Dear John:
Our meeting on Thursday, April 23rd, was an uplifting experience, and you gave us hope that we can implement the marketing techniques discussed. We were especially pleased with the simple, yet effective ideas you gave us for improving our website and broadening our marketing capabilities.
Sincerely,
Gary Richards,
President
|
Recent Comments