Recipe for fast, feel good sales for non pushy people

Creating sales will bring you more money which will bring you more freedom. So why don't we do it more? 

But when most people think of the sales process their gut contracts with the thought of being seen as pushy! This is because we have a skewed view of what sales is!

Are you stagnating with scaling your sales to the next level or going one step forward and two steps backward?

Guess what - we all do it. And there’s a reason why….

Every time we think about the future, our brains start to create dialogue about what it might look like. When it comes to selling for some reason we can kick into major FREAK out!

Because selling involves money. And asking people for it. And if we ask people for money then our emotions kick in. We have all sorts of emotions linked to asking for money. Fear, lack, rejection.

Maybe we asked for money as a kid and mum and dad say no ‘we can't afford it'. Or asked for a raise and our boss told us we weren’t doing enough to warrant it. 

But mostly, when we ask for money for a service or product, the biggest challenge is really and truly believing within that what we have is worth selling at the price we want to get for it.

If you don’t have the 100% conviction that your product will make a difference, then you will struggle to sell it because at the end of the day – most people don’t want to hurt others.

So somewhere along the way you need to decide if

a) your product will help

b) your product will cause pain

If you think the pain of buying your product is higher than the value your product will bring people – then you won’t be comfortable selling it to them.

There are 3 key areas to achieve a high value sale:

1. Your mindset

2. Your product 

3. Your sales process and skills

Today we are going to talk about mindset. Before the sale process even begins ...the sale has already started – in your mind! 

So lets do a rewire ....

1. Settle in your mind that you are good with asking for money.  This congruence is the secret to making sales  - for he/she who has the most conviction - wins! 

2. What will you choose to believe when you get a no? Will you step backwards or change the way you feel about your product?

Will you start to make excuses and waste your time procrastinating because you have responded to the no’s by starting to doubt yourself, your product and your services?

3. Dice up the old beliefs!

Everyone sells. It’s a fact of life. When you were 3 you were selling to your parents. That’s right. You were persuading them to get you that ice cream, to stay up later or to watch that TV show. When you were at school you were selling to your teachers. You were able to either influence them with your charm, your efforts or your behaviour so that they gave you the marks you deserved. (or not). Or - if you weren’t impressing your teachers – maybe you were impressing your friends or brothers or sisters. Maybe you convinced your sister to loan you her best dress. Or managed to get your parents or brother to loan you their car for the night.

Maybe you talked your friends into going to your favourite movie.

When you got your first job – you had to sell your skills at the interview. And from then on every day week and month – you had to continue to show your boss that the work you provided was worth them giving you a salary for.

So what’s different about selling your product or service?

Believe it or not – you already have some great sales skills. 

4. There is always someone who wants to follow you, and to buy from you. Someone who wants to hear what you have to say and who is ready to be influenced and led by someone like you. Someone who needs and wants your product or service. The question is – are you ready to find them?

5. Do you have 100% belief and conviction in what you are selling?

When you think of selling your products – what feelings are you cooking up?

ð Fear

ð Apprehension

ð Uncertainty

ð Rejection

ð Being Pushy

ð Disappointment

ð Distaste

ð Dread

ð Procrastination

Or…

ð Comfort

ð Acceptance

ð Gratitude

ð Excitement

ð Confidence

ð Success

ð Happiness

ð Serving

ð Pride

ð Appreciation

Maybe you ticked all the negative thoughts, or all the good ones, or a bit of both!

It’s pretty normal to have a mix of emotions when selling.

6. The negative emotions come for a few reasons:

1. Our ‘paradigm’ of sales is that of the ‘used car or door to door salesman

The old ‘foot in the door’ don’t leave until you’ve made the sale feeling. A very old sales process first used in the 50’s. Still exists but now tends to happen more by phone.

Reality is that the ‘old way’ of selling is no longer relevant in today’s world. And great sales people don’t sell that way because they value relationships too much and recognise that sales is all about trust, service, and solving problems for the person that is in front of them.

2. We are too worried about what people will think of us when we ask them for money for our products:

Welcome to the world. You are normal. You care about how people feel about you.

You don’t want people to see you as ‘pushy’!

You want to be known for your integrity and for the fact that you have something great to offer.

You don’t want people to feel that all you care about is the money they give you.

This will only be an issue if you believe that money is hard to get. That there isn’t enough to go around and that the person who may purchase from you won’t be able to afford it.

Think about your character. Are you an honest, trustworthy, caring person? So what makes you think that people will see you differently just because you are selling a product to them. It’s your own associations and feelings about negative sales experiences that you may have had that will give you that feeling or emotion.

7. Start mixing up the meal……

Challenge your own beliefs first and design the sales experience that works for you.

Consider how you are different from this type of sales person.

What are your intentions when you sell something?

Focus on the value that your customers will get.

How will your products benefit your customer?

How will it make them feel? What problem are you solving for them?

How will it make their life easier, better, more enjoyable?

What kind of experience do you want them to have when buying from you?

You can cook up your own sales recipe. You can change the way you feel when selling. You don’t have to keep feeling negative or doubtful. Write down key words that would describe a perfect sales experience for you. For example: I would like my sales experience to include fun, confidence, clarity, power, service, connection, engagement, curiosity etc..

8. As George Costanza said “Its not you, its me!” 

Remember good old George breaking up with Susan. He put the focus of the conversation on himself. – “Its not you, its me”

The point here is – are you so focused on the way you feel and the way that you like to buy that you are not listening and hearing what your customers or potential customers want? Relax!!!

Some people like it plain and some like lots of spice!

The customer doesn’t necessarily make buying decisions the way that you do. Some take longer to cook too!

Scientifically – its proven that we use 4 quadrants within our minds to process information and make buying decisions. So don't expect everyone to buy the way that you buy.  

Because of this – people have preferences in the way they think, perceive and buy.

People are definitely driven emotionally when buying – however the way they process information when making the buying decision varies from the emotional buyer, to the fact driven buyer, to those who want information in a very sequential and logical manner. All these people communicate in a different sequence as well - so the way you naturally speak could be impacting their experience with you.

For example..if you happen to be a highly emotional thinker – there’s a good chance you are more focused on the person’s feelings, and your own feelings when you think about selling. You will use more emotive words and actions to make the sale and you want to connect with them personally. However – if you are selling to someone who is more factually driven – they need to be given facts and proof about what you are selling in order to start to listen to the conversation. So in order to gain their trust, you may need to alter your words to suit their thinking style to make it easier for them to understand and listen to the benefits of your product.

There are a number of ways people make decisions and problem solve when purchasing, and their learning and thinking style has a big impact on making that decision.

9. Are you too worried about 'burning' the meal? Thinking more about the pain in the customer's wallet, than the value it will bring to them?

How do you go about buying things? Is your first thought one of fear or worry when you want to buy something that is higher priced? Do you over think it and talk yourself out of buying it?

Are you always worried about not having enough money?

This is the starting point to recognise how your money beliefs and paradigms are impacting your sales.

When you think about selling your product, where is your focus? Are you forgetting about what positive outcomes your customer will have because you are so concerned about what they will be spending?

Are you mind reading what they can and can’t afford?

Try noticing how your customer responds, and try to relax and listen! We have 2 ears and one mouth for a reason. Your customer will always know if you are focused on yourself rather than them.

So ask yourself the following questions to start to shift your sales beliefs…

When did you last sell something?

How did the customer feel about the product?

How did you feel when you made the sale?

What is the expectation you have when you have a customer in front of you?

What story do you play in your mind about the product and whether people will buy?

What are your concerns about your customers’ reactions?

Need a new recipe?

When you cook something - its always good to get feedback. Self awareness is the first step to change. Take the time to notice how you think and feel when you are in the process of selling. If you have hit a wall it's probably because you need some new tools. Do something differently - and in turn you'll get into the flow of being a natural born master sales chef!

I hope this article has helped you to start to reframe the way you think and feel about cooking up more sales. There are far more sales herbs and spices where that came from. Its time – don’t waste another minute living in sales starvation. 

Even for well seasoned sales people (pardon the pun) – we always have room to be better, perform at a higher level, and cook up the best sales we have ever done!

Start with answering the questions above and start to change your inside world so that you start to see results in your income and sales!

For high performance sales mindset training - check out www.louisetaylorglobal.com or email [email protected] to find out how your customers are thinking and how you can help more people and make more money using neuroscience and heart! 

© 2018 Louise Taylor. All Rights Reserved.