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I was working on my new book and the thought came through – again!

”I’ll have to sell*it!”

The truth is I gulped. Despite my 2 decades in retail, training and copywriting, I still feel that sell-ing is viewed negatively. And I didn’t want to be viewed negatively.

Well, at least I knew my underlying belief. So now what?

You can’t convince anyone of anything is you’re not convinced yourself.

Shall I repeat that? In other words, you can’t make money unless you sell something. As Robert Louis Stevenson said, “I find it useful to remember, everyone lives by sell-ing something.”

So you have a book for sale, or something you believe is of value for people.

People expect product quality and a positive brand image, but what they demand are products, communications, and marketing campaigns that, in the words of Columbia University professor Bernd H. Schmitt, “dazzle their senses, touch their hearts, and stimulate their minds – that deliver an experience.”
People will pay for inspiration… but not if it’s billed as inspiration. Think about what motivational speakers do. They charge money to give people inspiring advice. Yes, there are some who deliver uninspiring content, however they don’t stay in business very long. People pay to have speakers make them feel good. If you’ve ever been in an audience listening to an awe-inspiring speaker, you already know that.

Nevertheless, let’s say that the motivational speaker said that she was in the business of inspiring her audiences, no one would take her seriously and no one would pay her good money for her inspiring advice.

Rather than advertise what she is really selling, speakers advertise their methodology (Leader oriented, motivational, educational, salesmanship, etc.) or the type of “problems” they deal with (communications, goal setting, diversification, etc.).

That means that you have to come up with your own ideas about why people get themselves into trouble and how they can find solutions. These ideas will form themselves into a unified whole, if you think about them long enough. This unified whole is what we call an “intellectual franchise.” That’s what you need to develop. And then you test it and see if it sells.

Remember, starting a business and making it a success is not just a matter of having a good idea. The idea has to be one that people will be happy to pay money for.

How do you develop the skill of sell-ing when you are “wary” of selling as I sometimes get myself into?

I mean, look at these statistics. According to the Gallup Organization’s poll from December 2004, only 10 percent of polled consumers rated advertising executives as “very high” or “high” just ahead of car salespersons who scored 9 percent.
By comparison, lawyers were next with 18 percent. Only 51 percent of the respondents rated ad professionals’ ethics as “average” and 35 percent rated them as “low” or “very low”. The poll suggests that the perception of ethical conduct has been sliding steadily for ad execs and their ilk.

By the way, nurses topped the list with 9 percent of the “very high” vote, followed by grade-school teachers (73 percent) and pharmacists (72 percent).

No wonder we worry about sell-ing. What can you do? The first step is to understand that there are really two kinds of sell-ing:

1. pushing people (to buy things they don’t want)

2. helping people (to select those things they do want to buy)

Pushy salespeople - the telemarketer who calls you while you’re eating dinner, the proverbial used-car salesman - take delight in persuading you to do what you don’t want to do. Such salespeople see the selling process as a kind of battle where they bully and beat you into submission. It’s an ego game for them, and your acquiescence - even if you really do want the product - is an indication of submission.

But you know these type – and you’re not one of them, right?

If you understand that the job of a salesperson is to solve a customer’s problem or help him meet a need, sell-ing won’t seem so odious to you.

So long as you help him understand how your product can help him achieve his desires or solve his problems, he will be prejudiced in your favour. You lose your prospect when you start talking about other things - your interests, for example, or product features that he doesn’t really care about.

I wonder how soon you’ll realize just how much you do have to offer. Does this sound like something you can think about? If so, you are on your way.

Great Job Today,

Patricia Ogilvie
Copyright, 2008, ProRisk Enterprises Ltd.

If you wish to share the content of this ezine, please do so with the following in mind. Add written by: Patricia Ogilvie, www.salesletter.ca

Patricia is the author of several books including Fame Factors: Proven Plan of Action for Creating Business Recognition and Wild Mind: Remembering Last Week’s Meeting Today.

Her business is multi-faceted, with ? products, seminars and coaching on business and the secrets of success.

http://www.salesletter.ca

Patricia Ogilvie is an internationally recognized expert in internet marketing, information publishing, finance and retail SalesStrategies.As President of ProRisk Enterprises Ltd., Ogilvie has coaching programs that help people in leadership roles move upward in attitude, business and life itself.