Expressed opinions Entrepreneur Contributors own.
Many small business owners hate to sell, because it brings to the minds of people the idea of counterfeit remedies, cars using “lemon”, cheating grandma from her last $ 500, and so on.
I’ve met some people, including myself, who have even wondered if it’s at all appropriate to stay in business because so many sales are needed.
However, we always sell something – in our personal lives, even in those traditional 9-5 jobs.
Related: Want to sell your product or service more efficiently? Stop being so optimistic.
Can’t believe it? Allow me to explain.
I was a newspaper journalist for 17 years and I was Never I thought of myself as a salesman. There were other categories of sales, marketing and advertising.
So I thought.
Reflecting on my career, I realized that I was constantly selling. I just don’t call it that.
How many times have I called someone trying to interview? Too much to count.
How many times have I been assured that I would treat an unexpected interview subject fairly in my article so that they would agree to speak with me “on the record”?
How many times have I asked a lawyer or other person involved in a case to comment, knowing that 9 out of 10 answers was “no”?
How many times have my editor and I tried to figure out a story before the competition?
Especially towards the end of my full-time newspaper journalism career, journalists also had to go on social media to communicate with readers aka customers. It was in the hope that they would not run away when we put Paywal on our website.
That’s all sold.
Even in my other jobs outside of journalism I was selling and didn’t know it.
When I was working as a freelance TV and movie producer, I constantly had to “sell” people to join our crew – sometimes for less or no pay.
When I worked as an assistant or transcriptor across multiple industries, it seemed like I was constantly trying to prove that I deserved a promotion.
Not to mention all the sales that go into getting an interview or a job in the first place.
Every career involves sales. Academy. Education. Retail. Customer service. Medicine. Law. Even becoming a religious leader.
Related: The physique of a sales pipeline: the key to growth
And in our personal lives we are not selling?
We’re constantly talking about prices, but we’re also talking about relationships.
For romantic relationships, especially early stages, we need to sell ourselves at our best and persuade the other person to give us a chance.
Even after a few years or decades of marriage, sometimes you have to compromise on common things like vacation destinations or even watching TV shows or what to eat for dinner.
If you are a parent, you are selling in a sense when you try to treat your child.
When a friend crosses your boundaries and you have to have that uncomfortable conversation, it’s also a kind of sale.
The only thing I can think of is that the sale won’t involve living in a monastery or convent – but you have to make a pretty tough case for admission.
Which, of course, is sold.
Sales fill many of us with fear because it seems foreign, thin, loose, unauthentic; You choose the words.
But this is something we already do in our daily lives.
Related: The 10 biggest mistakes in sales
The key is to sell in a way that serves others and yourself. Don’t pressure people to buy; If it’s not acceptable to pressure a woman who has already said “no” on a date, why is it better to execute someone who is clearly not interested in what we want to give?
If you don’t do this in your personal life, don’t do it in your business.
If your mother, grandmother, minister, counselor or other respected person sees you doing this, you feel ashamed, but do not do it.
No one learns to speak a foreign language overnight, so we should not expect ourselves to become master salesmen overnight. Repetition, advice, study, patience and perseverance are the keys to learning a foreign language (I learned five at a very good or fluent level and about a dozen others) and it doesn’t happen overnight.
Selling is the same idea, especially since it’s not single – it’s a dual and sometimes a triangular or quadrangle depending on your business model. You can Everything Goes out of sync perfectly and without your own fault.
Embrace sales as an opportunity. It’s a kind of dance. Sometimes you will flow together nicely. Other times, it is awkward or straightforward mess. Sometimes it takes time to build trust. Other times, it’s an instant connection.
The key is to take a firm “no” as a “no” and an “maybe” or “I have to think about it” as an invitation to continue dancing … or at least to ask permission to continue.
