I can’t tell you how many times I have hear new and rising business owners exclaim “I hate to sell” or “I’m not good at marketing.”
The biggest fear, and challenge to get over, is that people don’t want to seem pushy and they don’t want to piss the people off on their list by selling.
Rejection is a huge fear of people today (still, can you believe it?) I found an interesting article from the American Psychological Association about the pain of rejection that people feel, and how real the body reacts.
Being on the receiving end of a social snub causes a cascade of emotional and cognitive consequences, researchers have found.
Attitude and behavior stands in the way of success
It’s when rejection raises it’s ugly head the you can feel it’s time to close your door and shut down your business.
And I know you don’t really want to do that.
But what I do know is that you DO want to make money doing what you love to do.
And
You DO want to feel good about the way you sell to people, whether it’s in person of digitally through the copy on your website, your emails or your content.
Good News…you don’t have to grovel
With HERO Worship Marketing you DON’T need to sound pushy, salesy, or stoop to groveling to make a sale.
But what you do need to do is understand that you MUST sell. You must sell in order to grow your business and make a profit so you can afford those reasons you started your business in the first place, like putting your kids through college, taking the awesome trip to the Amalfi Coast (I think of Audrey and Gregory in Roman Holiday) or adding the vanishing edge pool to complete your backyard oasis.
It’s how you approach selling that can make it feel icky – or make it feel great.
Let’s take a S.P.I.N shall we?
There’s a little sales training formula that I learned years ago when I worked for Xerox. It’s the SPIN formula.
Spin stands for Situation – Problem – Implication – Need
I’m going to update it by adding another “S” to the end…SPINS
The second “S” stands for SELL the Solution.
It’s really easy to go through the whole process and NOT ask for the sale. That fear that you know so well kicks in and you don’t want to sound pushy by making an offer and asking for the sale.
The thing is – people are looking for someone to help them in the process of solving a problem or challenge that they’re feeling.
And like MOST people on the planet – it’s hard to ask someone for help.
So, it’s the job of the salesperson to ask questions in order to understand how your prospect is feeling. Look at this stage of the process as helping the prospect understand their level of awareness to the situation at hand.
In the INC.com article The 10 Greatest Salespeople of All Time some of the names we all know like Dale Carnegie (How to Win Friends and Influence People), Mary Kay Ash (founder of the Mary Kay empire), David Ogilvy (legendary Ad man), Ron Popeil (who could ever forget the Popeil’s pocket fisherman) and of course Zig Ziglar, all made it look so easy.
Why? They didn’t sweat the sale because they were interested in YOU and how they could make your life better!
Getting to know you, getting to know all about you
One of the things that helped me become a better salesperson was, I love this stage of the process. I loved digging in and helping my would-be customer find a solution to their dilemma.
I wasn’t thinking about closing the sale, I was thinking about how I could help my customer. (And in some cases that help meant pointing them to a different product or resource.)
That’s what makes the difference between a salesy salesperson and a solution oriented mentor.
This is how it works.
1. Take a look at the SITUATION.
What’s going on in the head of your prospect. What are they feeling? Is there a little discomfort or is there a big challenge? Do they really want to change the situation?
If your customer is problem aware, that means they are looking for some type of solution.
2. Next – uncover the REAL PROBLEM.
The reason I say REAL problem is because if it’s not a situation that hits an emotional chord and stirs up either fear, anger or frustration, your prospect won’t be moved to make a change.
3. What is the Implication?
When you uncover the real problem just what is the IMPLICATION in their life if they don’t do anything about it.
You could say this is where you stir the pot. This is the point at which you put a mirror in front of your customer and show them what life will be like if the current situation doesn’t change.
Only once they see the implications and the effects, can you help them uncover the NEED for changing the situation.
4. What is it that they NEED to do?
Establish that NEED and then you can help them see how your product or service can fulfill that need and change the situation. You are the mentor that is showing them how to see their life in a new way.
Wait, you’re not done yet!
I know this is the part where you want to say – okay then, good talking with you. I gotta go.
5. This is where you offer the solution! (See, I didn’t even say “sell”)
This is where you show them how your product or service fulfills that need.
Sure, they’re going to come up with objections.
Not because they don’t have enough money or they have to check with their spouse.
It’s because CHANGE, any kind of change is scary. No one wants to walk away with egg on their face because they made a mistake.
Take each objection as it comes.
Work through the fear. What does that mean for your customer?
Keep SPIN ing in order to unpack the apprehension and move your customer’s awareness to what life will be like for them when they make the change.
Unlike pushy salespeople – this is where you empathize and understand how your customer feels. This is where you stand up as the mentor to make sure you help them move in the right direction.
One of my favorite marketing resource is Marketing Experiments and Marketing Sherpa. I think Flint McGlaughlin says it best here…
Think about how many times you’ve already done this – and you didn’t even know you were selling. You were just trying to help.
It’s the helping, through empathy and understanding, that makes all the difference.
Now, go make a difference!
Christine
To understand the Level of Awareness of your ideal customers, I’ve created a download to help you figure our where he/she is struggling so you can create the messages that connect with them in their current SITUATION, understand what they need so you can offer a solution that works!
Grab you download HERE
What a great article, Christine! So many good points that I emailed it to myself so that I can integrate & implement your wise way of looking at selling & marketing….and release my anxiety too so it doesn’t get in the way LOL…thanks!
Thanks Deb and I’m glad there was info that you can implement!