3 Keys to Successful Selling for Non Sales People (Part 1)

More and more when I meet business owners at conferences or events and exchange introductions, the conversation quickly turns to “selling” for the owner and how difficult it is for them. Most often, they say, “I just don’t have enough time to get out there and sell.”

But what I really hear is,

“I’M NOT A SALES PERSON, so I don’t make SELLING my priority.”

And if I dig just a tiny bit further, what I find is they have no selling strategy and definitely no sales process that they repeat with consistency to gain results and grow the business.

This is a problem we solve frequently—building sales strategy and marrying it to the sales process, coaching the owner or new sales team how to successfully work the strategy through the process (which includes making the TIME to sell and making it a high-level priority).

Most business owners know sales are critical to survival but loathe to think of themselves as the Chief Sales Officer of their company. Selling makes most people cringe when they think it means they have to be pushy, sneaky, or inauthentic.

Which is why many people have asked us, “Is there such a thing as Sales Coaching for Non-Sales People?”

Yes. Yes, there is. It’s not much different than how we train and coach professional sales or business development executives. For business owners, solopreneurs, service professionals, and even non-profit development pros, there is a way to position your product, services, programs, or causes so that you can confidently and consistently earn your customers’ trust and business.

Successful Selling for Non-Sales People

If you want to get the full context of this 3-part series, check out the following posts:

Part 1: Shift Your Mindset and Change Your Outlook

You know that setup, when someone asks the audience, “who here is in sales?”

And, of course, it’s a trick question. EVERYONE is in sales in one way, shape, or form.

You as a business owner, you are in sales. And accepting and embracing that is the first step to increasing your sales efforts. Even doctors, lawyers, CPA’s, bankers, financial planners are in sales. It’s not a dirty word. If you operate with integrity, there’s no reason to be reluctant to sell. And if you fear selling because of the rejection, think about sales in a different light than being a “Winner” or “Loser” in each scenario, your objective is to achieve a “Win-Win” situation, where you have the best solution for your customer’s needs.

Collaborating with your customers to create winning solutions is problem-solving, consulting, and not at all sleazy or pushy, right? (YES, that’s right!)

Selling is articulating your value

And doing it in a way that is valuable to your customers. Whether you’re selling commercial real estate, a hot new lipstick, a vacation plan, dinner plans, or your pick for a movie, you apply reason, persuade, and use your resources to articulate why you think your choice delivers the best value.

Value is subjective to each person. What I find valuable, you might find useless. Smart selling is understanding how what you have to offer is relevant, important, useful—valuable to the person you’re selling to. Reflecting the context of their value, their language, and stories to relate to your audience is how you connect and compel.

Again, not pushy. Not one sized fits all. You’re providing insights that tie to your customers’ currency.

Selling is helping people make decisions and buy confidently

Selling is now, as it always should have been, helping people buy. When you think of it that way, you can shift your outlook or perhaps even your opinion of selling and sales people. Helping people make successful, informed, and educated decisions is an important job.

Everyone fears making the wrong choice. Look at the difficulty a five-year-old might have in choosing an ice cream cone flavor. Now think about choosing a new cell phone plan, a new piece of software, or an accounting firm. Everyone has the same fear of regretting our choice—whether it’s thinking we might pay too much, not like the people we work with, or pick the wrong solution.

Easing the burden of those fears and lessening risk is all a part of selling to your customers.

Are you convinced?