The Key to Positive Attitudes and Powerful Sales

I have sold many different products, from the tangible to the conceptual. Selling is selling. Believing in your product, being fearless and having courage in your convictions - that is what being a great salesperson is all about. This post is about how we are selling in our everyday lives and how you can use that natural habit to help increase the revenue for your business. But it all begins here...

Selling Starts… The moment you start your day!

When we think of a salesperson, one of the first things we think is “How much is it going to cost?” or “What do they want me to buy that I don’t need?” But aren’t we all selling? Every day, in almost every conversation, we are selling. Selling is how we communicate, it is how we handle our everyday transactions, and it all starts at home. From the very first, “Good Morning! It is a beautiful day today, isn’t it?” - we are off and running; we are selling.

The Subliminal Sales

I have a friend who says that she could never be a salesperson. Her husband has wanted to sell their home and move to a warmer climate. However, she wants to stay in the area they currently are. This being a “seller's” market, they put their house on the market, and I sold in 2 weeks. They are now looking for a new home in a 10 mile radius of where they have been living. I asked him how that came about when he was so adamant about moving south. He looked at me, trying to not look confused, and said “I am not quite sure, but I think this decision makes sense.” Wouldn’t you agree that his wife must be a fabulous salesperson?

A subliminal sales technique can be used in just about every sales situation. When you are delivering your message by selling your client with a vision, it should be clever and subtle. For example: a subtle hook for this situation could be, “Wouldn’t it be nice to live in that neighborhood? There are so many walking trails nearby that I can see everyone using!” You are impressing your message on them by giving an example of where you see yourself or them in the future; you are picking their subconscious mind. Without their realization, you have sent their brain a message. Now it is time to use that and turn this subliminal message into a sale by simply adding, “Don’t you agree?”

The Storytelling Sales

By using a narrative or a story, you are opening a conversation. It allows you to talk outside the box of the salesperson and prospect - making it personal and telling a story about something that happened to you and what the outcome was can help you sell your product. For example, I sold windows. Windows are a very competitive market and I was selling one of the most expensive. I told a story about my old family home when I was a child and the wood windows we had. You could feel cold air coming through on a windy winter night. Part of my training for the company was to travel to the window manufacturer’s production plant and observe wood windows being put through the test of wind, rain, cold. All I could think of while watching those tests were the nights of feeling the cold blow through our old windows. How far windows have come and how valuable they would have been on those cold nights!

Telling a story opens up possibilities. It lets us know we are all participants in life and we all can usually relate to a portion of the story or at least visualize the story. Storytelling is more about emotions. You tell a story with passion and enthusiasm because you want to share it. You are bringing your client with you on the journey. They have now become a participant in the conversation; they are now engaged in the process. It isn’t just a “Sales Presentation”, it is a conversation. It is a journey that leads to the sale at the end.

The Persuasive Sales

How about your kids? When they really, really want something, they can really wear you down. Accepting no for an answer is not acceptable to them, and why should it? “But, But, But...Can I please?” We have all heard it! The “Listen Linda” YouTube video has had over 53 million views! Children know that they will get the yes or a no and either way they are willing to take that chance of pushing till the very end!

When you are persuading your potential client you must be convincing, pointing out valid reasoning and giving a strong, effective, informative message. You must be confident. It is important to remember that no one wants to feel like they have been persuaded; they don’t want to feel like they have been told what to do. So, deliver your message with confidence and with facts and persuade/lead your client to the yes!

Accepting the Fact!

One of the best practices that we as business people must accept is that running a business is a sales job. No matter if we are a mechanic, a lawyer, a roofer - we are all selling. Sales is not what we do, it is who we are. Part of my success happened the day I recognized that. That day, I was no longer embarrassed to say “I am a salesperson”. When you can see that and when you can admit that, you are already on the path to helping your company move to the next level.

I hope we get a chance to do this again and on this journey of sales, be creative, be open minded, be fearless and most of all….HAPPY SELLING!