"Selling without Selling" is a Hobby… Not A Business

 

I wrote the headline for this post and then sat with it for a few days.

Mainly because I wanted to make sure this was coming from the right place… and not just a rant. 

I first came across the ‘Selling without Selling’ a few years ago and initially, it resonated with me. The word selling is a little bit of a trigger for me because I don’t feel like I’ve ever been good at selling. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way. The thing is, you don’t get good at something by avoiding doing it.

Somehow the word ‘Selling’ has become a dirty word.

When you think of selling what images come to mind?

A smarmy car salesman?

Someone who is trying to pull one over on you?

Or… better yet, does it trigger an old money story inside of yourself that really has nothing to do with the person who is selling to you or the value they provide?

Let’s look at the definition of the word SELL:

Nothing surprising there, right?

I do want to point out #2, which is to “persuade someone of the merits of”… which is all about the benefits for the buyer, right? I’m guessing the word persuade will turn some people off as well.

But here’s the catch.

You’re running a BUSINESS.

ALL businesses require three things (and yes, I probably sound like a broken record here):

Offers

Leads

Sales

Trying to camoflouge the fact that your’e selling something doesn’t change the fact that you’re selling something.

Which brings me back to our definition of the word sell:

“…persuade someone of the merits of it”

If what you’re selling will solve a problem, provide a solution and make a difference in someone’s life, why wouldn’t you want to sell them that?

The problem with this whole idea of ‘selling without selling’ is that people are focusing on the wrong thing. It’s not about YOU having to convince someone to buy your thing.

It’s about you genuinely having something of value that will help your buyer.

I’m on a mission to get business owners over this fear of selling… and that includes myself. There is NO way you can ever grow your business if you’re coming from a place of fear…

– Fear of putting your gifts out into the world

– Fear of asking for the sale

– Fear of acting like a business owner

– Fear of showing up

As entrepreneurs  fear is something we deal with everyday. I’ve accepted the fact that it doesn’t really go away (ever), but now I know not to feed it.

It’s more about what you DO with the fear than the fear itself. Now I know that when I get that nervous pit in my stomach it’s because I’m stepping into something bigger (unknown) and instead of avoiding the next step I now look at it as an indicator that I’m on the right path.

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What does this all mean?

I love innovation. I really do.

But there is something to be said about fundamentals and mastery. I know this because everytime I’ve tried to skip this somehow I end up coming back to the things I thought I could skip or work around. And hear my heart, it’s not that I’m interested in the shortcut or quickfix… I get that those don’t work. Ever. But there are ways we hold ourselves back so we look for something that doesn’t feel so ‘hard’.

Here’s the thing though.

At some point, it doesn’t feel hard.

If you don’t feel comfortable selling, then practice.

Find a way to sell your services, products and solutions in a way that resonates with YOU… but no matter what you call it, it’s still selling.

[tweet_box]Find a way to sell your services, products and solutions in a way that resonates with YOU… but no matter what you call it, it’s still selling.[/tweet_box]