I've heard it many, many times in my business. Maybe you have, too: €I love it. It sounds great. But I can't do it. I can't sell€¦.€
Maybe you're one of those saying it.
For most of us, when we say, €I hate selling,€ we're thinking of a person convincing, maybe conning, someone to buy something he or she doesn't need and doesn't want, something that isn't to their benefit or advantage, only so that the salesperson will make a profit on the deal.
Who wouldn't hate that?
This common stereotype of selling is what gives the profession its high negatives, but it isn't -- or certainly shouldn't be -- typical of selling.
Let's start with the understanding that nobody wants to be €sold.€ Nobody wants to be pitched for the salesperson's bottom line, the commission, the enrollment, whatever. And however well it's disguised, if your key motivation in talking with a prospect is your own benefit, he or she will almost always pick up on it. It will be the music playing behind whatever words you speak, and it's what your prospect will hear. And the harder you €sell,€ the louder that music will play.
That's why canned sales pitches, script reading, automated calls, and the like don't work very well.
What does work? What some salespeople have been doing since time immemorial: taking the time to get to know their prospect, their life situation, their problems, their dreams, their goals. Good salespeople are great listeners, not talkers, and when they do talk, they come from a place of genuine desire to help their prospect solve his or her problem, to get what s/he wants via the product or service being offered. They speak to the prospect's best interests, not their own.
As many coaches and mentors have pointed out, we are all salespeople, in a sense, even those of us who profess to hate selling. If you've ever put your best foot forward at a job interview, for example, checked every detail of your appearance, researched the company you're applying to, investigated the position you're applying for, tweaked your resume to your best advantage -- you were selling: yourself.
If you had a special date, did you ever buy a new outfit, have your hair done specially, tune in on his or her hobbies and interests, cook a tasty meal, send him or her a bouquet or an unexpected note, etc.? Weren't you €selling€ yourself?
We don't usually think of it as €selling,€ but truly, it is. In common with what a great salesperson does, you're trying to fulfill the need the other person (or the prospect) has. Getting what you want -- the job, the date, the sale, the proposal -- comes as the result of that need fulfillment.
There's a second stumbling block for many people in €selling.€ They feel they have to convince the person they're talking to, no matter how disinterested that person is. Don't do it. It's a terrible idea to try to turn an unwilling, negative person into an eager customer. In the first place, you inevitably begin to come across as the pushy, self-interested salesman. You'll also reinforce your prospect's suspicion that, in accepting your offer, they'll be investing in you, your product, your service, your opportunity, rather than investing in themselves, through you, for their benefit. If they don't think they're a very good investment, neither should you.
Last, but most important of all in a home business, is your belief in your product, service, whatever you're marketing. Enthusiasm and excitement should be the music behind every word you speak. What you're marketing should be an important part of your life, something you do and use every day. Something you'd tell your friends about even if you weren't marketing it, because it's been so great for you and you believe it'll be great for them.
I would never market a product I don't personally use and love. If it doesn't benefit me, how can I speak of its benefits to others? My products have so changed my life for the better I believe everyone in the world would benefit from them, too. And when I talk about them, I don't feel as though I'm selling at all.