Can selling really be effortless? Is it what you do, what you say, what you ask, or what your service is? No, effortless selling has very little to do with any of this. In effortless selling you don't need to convince anyone. People convince themselves.
I finally realized that selling rarely happened in a vacuum. As you know, it's almost impossible to just call someone up and sell them on your services. They have to be warmed up first. They need to know something about what you offer.
They need to be exposed to MARKETING.
As a result of this realization, I started marketing myself like there was no tomorrow. I networked, gave talks, hosted events, created brochures, sent out newsletters, gave stuff away. I was out there. I warmed up my prospective clients through marketing. Still do.
When someone showed interest I set up a time to talk and the sales process began. And almost everyone I spoke with became a client. You see, they had already pre-sold themselves before I even talked to them.
All I had to do was get out of the way and see if I could really help them or not. And now my questions had a different purpose. I just needed to determine if the prospect was sufficiently motivated and if my service was right for them.
Complete More Clients eZine - The Art of Effortless Selling
This week, please share the following with us.
What ways have you discovered to make selling effortless?
Thank you for your site :-)
I made with photoshop backgrounds for myspace,youtube and ect..
my backgrounds:http://tinyurl.com/6kw9wq
take care and thank you again!
Posted by: createmo | November 02, 2008 at 01:31 AM
As always your article on selling spoke to me. I guess I'm not the only entrepreneur who became one because I had a specific skill, which is writing, but not the skill of sales, which is the primary way to get clients to use my skill. So I know if I want to make money selling my writing, I have to be a salesperson. The process in your article gives me a relatively easy formula to follow, that with practice I'm sure I can master. Thanks again.
Posted by: Andrea Susan Glass | January 31, 2006 at 02:34 PM
Robert, last weeks article really hit home for me; I envisioned surfing, and had a client on the line; they lowballed my original offer (which was cheekily high, but they'd asked me for an off-the-cuff answer) and I was uncomfortable until I remembered your advice and relaxed and flowed into a way to suggest a better price (paraphrased: you know, I'd rather put it here, then I can feel comfortable with the preparation time), which they accepted.
This week's article again is very focused in ways I can put into practice. I love this new theme; great stuff! Thanks and all the best, -- Clark
Posted by: Clark Quinn | January 31, 2006 at 09:47 AM
Not only I, but so many of my colleagues find your articles helpful. The transforming the selling experience is particularly helpful for the British who think of selling and trade as a bad thing!
I also found your "effortless selling" article helped us understand why some approaches work better than others. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Posted by: Nancy Radford | January 31, 2006 at 09:05 AM
Hello Robert:
This is an excellent article. One of your great strengths is in encouraging people to escape marketing inertia and take action. Your method isn't effortless. In my view it's focussed, systematic and interactive. The bottom line is, it's helping me to get better business results, so the "effort" is justified by the returns.
Thank you.
Galba Bright
Posted by: Galba Bright | January 31, 2006 at 05:30 AM
Hi Robert,
This really resonates with me at the moment. Over the last few weeks I have acquired several new clients in a very effortless way. After reading your article I can see that I have instinctively used the exact same steps you are talking about - without realising it. Now I know how to repeat the process without guessing. Thanks!
Posted by: Rochelle Dent | January 31, 2006 at 03:20 AM
Hi Robert
In respect of your last four questions, I always switch the last two around. Getting clients to think how good the future could be, makes them want to invest in a change and makes them see how in reality they can't afford not to.
Posted by: Jonathan Hall | January 31, 2006 at 02:57 AM