Sales is a Four Letter Word – Or Why Cold Calling Sucks
You know what I hate?
SALES!
The word “salesman” always makes me picture either a sleazy car salesman or sad Willy Loman, from Death of a Salesman.
I hate making a pitch, and waiting to see if I’ve got a buyer. HATE. HATE. HATE.
But you know what I like?
Money.
Do you see my dilemma?
If you’re a micro business owner or a solopreneur, you don’t have a choice. You have to sell. Actually, I feel pretty bad that it’s taken me a year to write a blog post about this.
My bad. Obviously selling is an essential micro business skill. And the truth is sales is a much bigger skill than I can teach in one blog post. So the focus of this blog post is not to make you a master salesperson, but so you can begin to develop your sales muscles. And start thinking about what kind of sales person you want to be.
Cold Call Or Not To Cold Call. That Is the Question!
I don’t cold call. I don’t want to be cold called myself, and I think it’s a waste of time. It’s old school.
The folks I’ve talked to that cold call daily say it’s a numbers game. Cold call 100 people a day, and you’ll get a 10% success rate (or less if you’re new!). And on top of that, cold calling costs 60% more per lead (source: Impact)
Who wants to waste their time doing something with this type of return?!!!!!!
Not me. There are much better ways to find potential clients. Today’s reality is many people are on the no-call list. So it’s harder to do anyway.
My vote is to never cold call anyone. Ever.
It’s Easy To Sell to Those Who WANT Your Product
Ever heard of Permission Marketing? Author Seth Godin wrote Permission Marketing in 1999 and revolutionized marketing. The premise is you only market (or sell) to those who give you permission.
These prospects want to hear your pitch, and want your information. “Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who actually want to get them” (Seth Godin – Permission Marketing).
With the idea of permission marketing as a foundation, it now becomes easier to sell to your prospects. Because your prospects are looking to buy your products or services.
Now this seems incredible obvious. Yes, it’s easy to sell to those who want to buy. But if that’s the case, why do so many business people rely on mass marketing? Or continue cold calling? Or forget to market to their niche?
So create a sales strategy that is built on selling to those who want your service/product. Build an email list, market to a niche, write an article, or teach a class. There are tons of way to connect with your market that have nothing to do with cold calling.
Sales Doesn’t Have to Be a Four Letter Word
Here’s my philosophy: I don’t want to be “sold”. If I want information, I will ask. I believe other’s feel the same way.
Therefore, I am a different type of sales person by choice.
I will never:
- Be a pushy sales person
- Go for the hard sell
- Lie to get a sale
- Attempt to “convince” someone to buy
What do I do:
- Give value
- Develop relationships
- Ask for referrals from existing customers
- Refer to competitor if they are not the right fit for my product or service (think Miracle on 34th Street!)
What Kind of Sales Person Are You?
What’s your best sales advice?
What sales technique would you never try again?
Liesha Petrovich is passionate about micro business education. Doesn’t sound sexy does it? But teaching micro business owners how to create success and freedom is. Learn more at Micro Business Essentials and follow her on Twitter
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