Selling when you are not a natural

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My sister told me that selling is easy. You need to create a fear of loss, she said. Hence the deadlines. And here I naively believed that in order to sell something, you needed to believe in your product.


The art of persuasion is just that, an art. Some people can sell ice to an eskimo; they are gifted. They have the knack for it, the gift of the gab. But just today I read that if selling does not come naturally to you, it might be to your benefit.


So how can it be to your advantage not to be a natural salesman? According to Alan Knott-Craig, who was named Young Global Leader by World Economic Forum in 2009, "the customer can see you're not comfortable selling, and so they trust that you wouldn't be standing there, sweating, unless you truly believed in what you're pushing." (See the August 2016 edition of 'Entrepreneur' magazine.)


But there it is again. You truly believe in the product or service. You need to identify with what you are selling. If you don't see its value, you won't be able to convince someone else. So the best way to be truly convinced is by doing your research. Ask yourself the tough questions. Ask yourself the questions your toughest clients may ask. And if you are convinced, you will gain confidence. If you are not convinced, approach the matter, get to grips with your questions. Get a firm foundation under your feet.


In order to lift off, you need to have the confidence that you are on stable ground. You want to know that the earth beneath your feet won't crumble as you run towards the cliff with a parachute on your back. Your parachute is that which you have faith in, and you need to be able to trust that it works.


Your foundation is your product knowledge, and once you go out there, you need to trust in your parachute, your product, with all your heart and soul. Have a back-up plan, by all means, but believe in what you are selling really works.


Then go out there and show, don't tell!

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