Someone we’ll call “Malcolm” recently applied for a free “Consistent Flow of Customers” strategy session with me. I read his answers and emailed him some follow up questions.
My email said:
Hi Malcolm,
I reviewed your application and I have a follow up question if you don’t mind.
You say you don’t want to have to sell. Why not? What are your beliefs about selling?
Dov
I got the following reply:
I’m a teacher not a sales person. I don’t enjoy the process. I think, synthesize ideas and information into new forms that people can understand. Selling is what someone who enjoys selling should be doing for me.
I don’t think I have any negative beliefs about selling, because without telling people who, what, etc…they wouldn’t know what you offer and then couldn’t choose to purchase or not. Perhaps I think of selling as convincing people to purchase, and I think they are perfectly capable of knowing what they need and making that choice for themselves. They don’t need to be talked into something.
Malcolm
Naturally, this only gave me more questions. I asked:
Hi Malcolm,
A follow up question. How do you reconcile these two statements from your last email:
>> Perhaps I think of selling as convincing people to purchase, and I think they are perfectly capable of knowing what they need and making that choice for themselves. They don’t need to be talked into something.
AND:
>>Selling is what someone who enjoys selling should be doing for me.
If people don’t need to be talked into it, why would someone else be needed to do the selling?
I never got a reply.
Malcolm’s view of sales is, I believe, rather extreme.
Fortunately, most entrepreneurs I speak to have a different problem with their sales conversations. They WANT to elegantly lead a sales conversation, but they get stuck.
In a couple of weeks I’ll be rolling out a training program to help you master the sales conversation.
My approach here will be like everything else I do: Strike at the root where everyone else is hacking at the leaves. Unearth and teach the critical 10% that makes you look brilliant 90% of the time because you don’t need to know everything – you need to know the right things.
So help me understand what YOU need in order to master the sales conversation.
Fill in this private survey. I’m not asking you to leave your answer as a comment because I want honest, open answers so I’ll be able to help you afterwards.
Anyone who shares honestly and thoughtfully will be entered to win a 100% scholarship to the training program when it’s released in early February.
Dov Gordon
