My clients are often solo-preneurs, brave souls who took a leap of faith into their dream field of work, but one thing I hear from them all the time is, "I just don't like selling!"
Sales is one of the major skills that can make or break a small business.
It is always prudent to make every interaction count by identifying potential leads in real life and getting them into your sales funnel. But how can you do that without feeling like an icky used car salesman?
In this guide, I will give you some very simple tips, tricks, and scripts to get a person to like you, schedule a meeting with you, and buy from you. This is not by any means a one-size-fits-all approach, but it's just what has worked for me, as an online B2B service business.
You may think sales is something you need to do, but not something you'll ever enjoy doing. Well I'm here to tell you that once you see sales in a different light - for what it truly is - you'll not only begin to enjoy it, but you'll even crush it and make your process of turning in-person interactions into paying customers with minimal effort.
When you start to see sales as the process of building relationships and solving problems for people, it flips your subconscious mental switch. You can start to see your sales cycle as a helpful act of service for them rather than a desperate money-grab for you.
When you start to see sales in this way, it actually starts to evoke feelings of potential guilt for not helping them properly. If you meet a person who is telling you that they have a problem, and you have a way to fix it, then it would be wrong to leave them hanging. That's why you got into your business in the first place isn't it? To help people with a problem that you understand, by offering a solution that you provide.
Sales is the process of minimizing a person's doubt and resistance to a solution.
Subconsciously no one likes change. Change is always a little uncomfortable, even if we know that change is an upgrade. In all of our problems, we get comfortable with them. Maybe comfortable complaining about them. "I need to exercise more." "I'm burnt out." "I never have enough time to cook healthy meals." Some of us are much more comfortable making these statements on a regular basis than doing anything about the problem.
In sales, your job is help the person overcome that resistance to the solution they need. Be the catalyst for the change they desire. Sales is nothing short of a noble pursuit, as long as two conditions are met. I'll get to those conditions in step 3.
The commitment to being personable is developing a character that is pleasant and makes a good impression, and this can go a long way for anyone. Not everyone is going to like you, but it's important to do your best to put your best foot forward, even just for your own integrity. However, there are some actionable steps you can take to increases the chances that someone will find themself drawn to you.
Fact: It's easier to build rapport in person than online.
Okay, that may not be an actual fact, it's just my opinion, but I would argue that in person, you have a lot more rapport-building tools available to you: handshaking, body language, reactions, eye-contact, even perfume or cologne.
Here are some of my favorite tools:
Smile: It doesn't have to be a huge dramatic one, but research shows that if you give a little smile, even just slightly, a split second after making eye-contact with someone and hold that eye contact, it evokes a feeling of friendliness and familiarity.
Compliment: It must be genuine to be helpful. Abroad, Americans have a reputation of being fake so make sure that your compliment is always genuine.
Asking questions: People love talking about themselves more than they realize. If you ask the right questions, you may not be able to get them to stop talking to you
The next step is to make sure that you're talking to the right person. Your sales process is worthless to someone who doesn't want or need whatever you are offering.
The two conditions that should be met are:
They have a problem.
You offer a solution to that problem.
Being able to identify leads in real life is not rocket-science, especially when you intentionally go places where your target customers typically spend time. For example, I attend business seminars for entrepreneurs often because these are my target customers for branding new digital businesses. I would be less likely to find this person just hanging out at any Taco Bell, so my radar for leads isn't on everywhere all the time.
Know where your target customer hangs out and go there. If you are in the luxury sector, it would be worthwhile to attend luxury events such as Yacht Week in Monaco or Art Basel in Miami. If you are in the health and wellness sector, then it would be wise to mingle at major marathons or spas.