How to not suck at Selling your ideas (or How to Sell)
Sales and selling have a bit of a bad rap these days — the idea has become synonymous with manipulative and pressuring behaviour. People get on the defensive and start picking the negatives when they think they’re being sold something. This might happen when you’re pitching a business idea or selling a new product. However, we forget that we spend our days selling our ideas and vision (sometimes in the form of products and services).
So, this isn’t the millionth ‘how to sell’ article. This is an article that’ll help you perform better and sell yourself and your ideas better.
#1 — Be a problem solver (for others)
Sales is about the people and the problem you are solving for them.
There are 2 sides to every idea, product or business. The surface — the part with which the customer interacts. The back-end — the functionality and engineering behind the surface.
For example, for Uber, the surface would be their app with which the users interact to order cabs. The back-end would be co-ordinating with the drivers, calculating rates using their algorithm etc.
Or for Nike, the surface would be their physical stores where you go to buy shoes. The back-end would be figuring out what material to use, the manufacturing process, research and development etc.
What I want you to understand is that the customer only interacts with the ‘surface’ and that is all he cares about! When I order an Uber, all I care about is a taxi arriving at my doorstep at a pre-decided price. When I go to the Nike outlet, I’m looking for shoes that would help me run longer. In both these cases, I had a specific problem which I wanted to solve. I don’t care how they do it, I just want a taxi at the decided time.
Similarly, the customer only wants his problem solved. For you to relieve him/ her from their pain.
Sales isn’t about solutions or technology or chemicals or mechanics or code. It’s about problem-solving.
How do I figure out what problem I am solving?
It’s simple. Every product and/or service can be categorised as to selling 1 of these 4 things —
- Time
- Money
- Status/ approval/ sex
- Peace of mind
Revisiting our previous example, Uber saves people time and gives them peace of mind because they don’t have to search for taxis and availability or price are rarely an issue. Apple and Nike sell a higher status. Amazon saves you time, money and gives you peace of mind by delivering stuff right to your doorstep.
Do all the solutions comprise of at least one of these aspects?
Well, these 4 pain points are of primary importance to a human. Time and money are the obvious ones. Everyone wants to have more of those.
As for status or approval, our society has a hierarchy. This hierarchy is determined by various factors like wealth, fame, social likeliness etc. Everyone aspires to be in the upper half rather than the lower.
Peace of mind is a rare find in a life with ever-increasing pace. More and more responsibilities pile up as you age. Naturally, people are always looking for means to eliminate or reduce their stresses.
Sure, there are other problems and people do pay to have them solved. But —
Between a Vitamin and Aspirin, always sell aspirin.
What does this even mean? People buy vitamins occasionally and in unpredictive patterns. People always buy aspirins. The 4 aspects or categories are aspirins. They resolve the primary pains.
Make sure you place your solution as one or a combination of the above 4 aspects.
#2 — As mother would say, Be Nice.
There’s this famous quote by Mark McCormack — “All things being equal, people will do business with a friend.”
I have my own version of it —
“All things being equal, people buy from a friend. So make everything else equal then go make a lot of friends.”
Being valuable and useful is all you need to do to sell things. Help people out. Share interesting posts. Write birthday cards. Send them videos with your ideas for growing their business. Introduce people who would benefit from knowing each other. Expect nothing.
Do this consistently and with authenticity and people will find ways to give you money.
#3 — Know your customer’s risk tolerance
One of the ways that people decide they’re going to buy something is —
a. They know someone else who has already bought it.
b. Other people in their domain are already using it.
Now, you can go to someone and tell them how this product is completely new and revolutionary. And to be fair, that is a great pitch for someone entrepreneurial or risk-taker. But most people aren’t wired that way. Most people tend to avoid risks. So, if you’re telling a conservative buyer that this is completely new and revolutionary, their understanding is that this is a risky proposition. In such cases, siding by them and removing all or other major risks will help you close the sale.
People tend to lean towards familiarity rather than the new and unknown. Position your product in a way that the user feels familiar with the concept of it but knows that it is unique in a few key aspects.
In the end, remember, however counterintuitive it might be — do not approach sales as selling something. You’re there to help someone out, solve a problem and in the process, maybe make a new friend.
If you like this article or know someone who might benefit from it, please share it with them.
You can reach me at — kaustubh8g@gmail.com
Twitter — Kaustubh Ghude
