When you think of “selling,” do you cringe? Would you rather have a root canal than to have to pick up the phone and attempt to enlighten a cold prospect about the merits of your solutions and, let’s be honest, beg for a meeting? Just like you, most professional service providers feel “unprofessional” when selling and find the whole process a bit degrading. So, today I’m going to share insight that will instantly make you feel a whole lot more comfortable. Here’s the panacea: Stop Selling! Yep, you heard right, simply don’t do it a minute longer and let out a big sigh of relief.
Say Goodbye to Me-Focused Selling
There’s a good reason why you detest selling. People, especially busy executives, don’t like sales people. In a pointed post, Why Customers Hate Sales People, Roger Bostdorff from B2B Sales Boost points out some of the top reasons why professionals screen calls, don’t open direct mail and refuse to take meetings. He opines that your traditional salesperson:
- Doesn’t listen
- Talks too much
- Lacks knowledge
- Fails to understand your needs
Sales people are too focused on themselves and making quotas and commissions and not enough on the needs of their potential customer. And here’s why that really ticks off the B2B buyer:
<The buyer’s mindset> “The world revolves around me. Me, me, me. My favorite person: Me. I don’t want email from you. I don’t want junk mail from you. I want me-mail.” – Seth Godin
Buyers care about themselves – not you! Selling makes you uncomfortable because it should –you are pushing “you” focused messages on busy people who aren’t ready or don’t want to receive them.
Say Hello to Customer-Focused Content
I’m about to eradicate sales completely by changing your mindset and how you approach bringing in new business. You are not going to push legal, accounting, engineering or architectural services and interrupt professionals who are trying their best to avoid you. You are going to focus squarely on your buyers – their challenges, needs, pain points and opportunities – and let them know you care through developing helpful content to make their lives better. This content is your “non” sales tool to pull potential buyers into your pipeline. The actual term for this process is called Content Marketing, which is defined below:
“Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing relevant and valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage a clearly defined and understood target audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” Content Marketing Institute
Remember, only a small portion of the content you create is actually about your company and its products and services. And, when you do supply that content, your potential buyers will be ready and interested to learn more because you’ve already provided them with valuable information to assist in identifying a problem, offering a process for solving their challenge and sharing possible solutions. You’ve earned their trust by creating authentically helpful relevant content. Now doesn’t that sound so much better than cold calling and handing out unwanted business cards and brochures?
