One Simple Mindset Shift to Transform Your Sales Process
Have you or someone in your company ever said a version of the following:
“I hate sales.”
“I'm not a great salesperson.”
“If only I didn't have to SELL.”
Just last week I was in a meeting for a new mastermind with six powerful female leaders in my community. Several of them spoke about their distaste for sales in their introductions. I hear this all the time, especially with conscious businesses.
And it’s not just women. After a conference in Portland, Oregon, I sat with two men- engineers who left their high-profile corporate jobs to start a consulting company. We were discussing their business challenges. One of them said with conviction, “Yeah, we’re not salespeople.” as the other nodded in agreement.
I took this to mean that they viewed selling as a rare and special skill they’d never possess or that selling was something they didn’t want to be good at.
As a life and business coach my immediate response when I hear a version of “I don’t like to sell” is always,
“Well, how’s that working for you?”
Because the truth is, without sales there’s no revenue. And without revenue there’s really no business.
Even if you're not an entrepreneur, as humans in our society we are constantly selling. We sell our friends on where to have drinks on Friday night. We sell our boss on approving our vacation time. We sell our children on eating their vegetables. Sales is deeply engrained in our lives.
What if the way we’ve been trained to sell in our society is fundamentally flawed?
If sales is in any way uncomfortable for you- I invite you to bring to mind a recent example of when you felt discomfort in the sales process with a potential client or customer.
What was going on for you?
Were you nervous? Awkward? Worried about what the other person might think of you? Did you want them to think you were a “nice” person? Were you concerned that they wouldn’t see the value of what you were offering? All of the above?
If any of these statements were true for you, tell me- WHO was that really about?
Was it about your potential client or customer?
Or was it about YOU?
When we make the sales process about ourselves- OUR bank account, OUR sales quota, OUR agenda, we don’t leave room for the other person in the conversation.
As my friend and mentor Steve Chandler says, “No sale has every happened outside of a conversation.”
Even if someone clicks the buy button on your website they’ve already engaged with your copy, your reviews and your testimonials. They may have been following you on Instagram for years. There’s definitely been a conversation, both from you to them and also within them about whether or not to buy.
Here’s where the real opportunity lies. By consciously shifting this focus- from ourselves to our potential client or customer EVERYTHING can change.
Because then we naturally have to slow down and get curious about their needs and desires. And when we understand what they want and/or need we are in a better position to recognize if what we have to offer could help them.
It’s about approaching every sales conversation from a place of SERVICE rather than SELLING.
What problem or issue is this person (or company) trying to solve?
Is my product or service a good fit for their needs? Could I potentially help?
How can I truly show up today and SERVE this person (or company)?
Then and only then can we more deeply KNOW- would offering my product or service SERVE this situation?
If the answer is yes, we can also see that NOT offering our product or service (if we believe it would benefit them) would be doing them a tremendous disservice.
As a coach I am constantly bringing myself back to service in conversation with potential clients. I know it’s not about ME and MY BANK ACCOUNT. It’s not about what they think of ME. It’s not about whether they’ll tell their friends about ME. Because it’s not about ME at all.
It’s about THEM.
It’s about their hopes and their dreams and their challenges. And it’s about me determining, from a place of service, could I help this person? Is this person really ready to make significant changes in their life to create transformation?
And, if the answer to those questions is yes, I feel a RESPONSIBILITY to offer my services. I know that the work we would do together could significantly change the course of his or her LIFE. Not just the six or twelve months that we work together, but it can impact a random Tuesday in 30 years. They, of course, can say, “No.” But my commitment to myself is to use the sales process as a way to serve my potential clients, even if they never decide to work with me.
What could be possible for you if you take the focus off yourself when you’re in sales conversations and place all that focus and attention on your potential client or customer? What if you were even 5% more focused on them? What could occur?
I’m leading an experiential workshop about this topic this week. If you’re in LA reach out to me and I’ll get you more info, there’s one spot left. And if you’d like to be on the list for the next workshop or webinar on this topic drop me a note.