To Sell Is Human

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Selling matters - it’s pitching, convincing, negotiating, hiring. Selling has a bad rap, because the seller often puts their needs ahead of the buyer - a win/lose paradigm. You should make selling win/win or no deal by needing to answer yes to these questions. 1/ If the buyer agrees, will their life improve? 2/ When the deal is done, will the world be a better place than when you began?

To sell is human is a treatise on the modern form of sales. Part I describes why selling is important, and how it has evolved. Part II focuses on the how to be a salesman and Part III focuses on what you need to do to do sales.

Buyer beware to seller beware

Axis Pre Internet (Limited) Modern World You should
Product Information Only Salesman to know what going on Infinite knowledge on internet Help customers evaluate the information overload
Reputation Visibility Only salesman to know what going on Infinite knowledge on internet Build reputation on social media.
Purchase Access Only what’s in the Physical Stores Internet purchases Direct to easiest purchase
Post Sales Support TBD TBD TBD
Product Catalog Only what store/company has. Provide access to broader product range Optimize for your reputation, carry to the best products.

Attunement (Seek First To Understand)

Lock into what other person is transmitting, even when the signals aren’t clear or obvious.

  • Increase your power by reducing it.
    • More power we have, less likely to listen.
    • Try Snap 5 times, then draw E on forehead trick.
    • Power results in anchoring on own point of view, not that of others
  • Use your head as much as your heart
    • Cognitive understanding of need.
    • Cousin: Empathy - emotional understanding.
  • Mimic Strategically
    • Build connection
    • Mirroring
    • Touching
    • Repeating words/concepts

Buoyancy

TBD

Clarity

TBD

Pitch

As you prepare your pitch, whichever variety you choose, clarify your purpose and strategy by making sure you can answer these three questions: After someone hears your pitch . . .

  • What do you want them to know?
  • What do you want them to feel?
  • What do you want them to do?
Pitch Tip How
One Word Write a fifty-word pitch. Reduce it to twenty-five words. Then to six words. One of those remaining half-dozen is almost certainly your one-word pitch
The Question Use this if your arguments are strong. If they’re weak, make a statement. Or better yet, find some new arguments
Rhyming Don’t rack your brain for rhymes. Go online and find a rhyming dictionary. I’m partial to RhymeZone
Subject Line Review the subject lines of the last twenty e-mail messages you’ve sent. Note how many of them appeal to either utility or curiosity. If that number is less than ten, rewrite each one that fails the test.
Twitter Even though Twitter allows 140 characters, limit your pitch to 120 characters so that others can pass it on. Remember: The best pitches are short, sweet, and easy to retweet
Pixar Read all twenty-two of former Pixar story artist Emma Coats’s story rules Your try: Once upon a time [..] . Every day, [..]. One day [..] . Because of that [..] . Because of that [..]. Until finally [..].

Improvise

Improv teaches valuable skills for sales, and maps to many topics on this blog

Serve

Service is about improving others lives, and in the process improving the world.

  • Make it personal
    • Radiologists seeing a picture of a person, do a better job
    • See patients as people instead of bundles of symptoms.
    • Professionalism does not mean cold and distant, it means human connection.
    • Put your personal brand behind what you’re doing (put your phone number on your product)
  • Make it purposeful
    • People aren’t just selfish, they feel great when they help others.
    • Washing helps stops patients from getting sick, much more effective then washing hands kills germs.
  • Upserve don’t upsell.
    • How can I provide even more value in this experience?
    • Always imagine the other guy is doing you a favor.
  • Emotionally Intelligent signs:
    • Don’t worry - the line moves quickly. (give empathy)
    • Children play here - pick up after your dog (provide purpose)