2 Steps to Selling Anything

Until I stopped working in the “corporate “world I had spent about 35+ years selling many different products. This was mainly in a business-to-business type setting, but the outline below works exactly the same if you’re selling to a huge business or a single person. People want the answer to a single question, namely: “What’s in this deal for me?” so…

You could buy a hundred books on how to sell, how to make conversions, how to get people to do things and so forth.

Or you can learn and practice just two incredibly simple concepts that will allow you to sell just about any product on the planet.

Ready? Here they are…

1: “What’s in It for Me?”

Whoa-ho, not very revolutionary, is it?

You’ve heard this one time and time again because…

• It works.
• It works really well.
• And it FREAKIN WORKS! 😊

Every potential customer is asking you this question. Give them the answer right up front. Never make them dig for it because they won’t. If you’re going to make their problem go away, tell them that in the headline and again in the first sentence after the headline. Let them know exactly what is in it for them.

2: Enter the Conversation that’s Already in The Customer’s Head

Your customer is always talking to themselves, and by entering the conversation where they already are, you are essentially taking them by the hand and walking them towards the solution they seek.

Here’s a simple example. If you were to say, “Buy this product because it’s the best,” then you’re essentially standing on your soapbox yelling at them to come give you money. You’re not starting where they are because they’re across the street from you, don’t know who you are, don’t trust you and they’re pretty sure you’re out to rip them off.

Instead, you can begin the dialogue by letting them know that you understand how much it stinks to have their problem because you had the same problem. You can talk about how you searched for a solution, how you tried a lot of stuff that didn’t work, and that’s why you were relieved when you finally found the answer. This doesn’t need to be lengthy. You’re not giving them a soap opera; you’re simply starting where they are “I have this problem and I want the solution” and taking them from that starting point through the process of realizing there is only one solution that makes sense and it’s yours.

Does this sound too easy? Too simple? Too outdated? If so, I might suggest that you simply give it a try and see what happens. Let them know what’s in it for them and start from where they already are.

Sometimes the simplest solutions really are the ones that work best.

Notes and Observations on Focusing

• Forget ‘to-do’ lists. Create a success list of only the things that will get you closer to your goal.
• Say “no” more often to more stuff. Focus.
• Get rid of distractions. Seriously. REALLY get rid of them.
• Asking the right question will give you the right answer. Finding the right question can be tricky, so keep trying.
• Figure out your “system” and then work your system.
• Pick one thing and then jealously guard your time to work on your one thing.
• Do it inch by inch or centimeter by centimeter.
• Having trouble getting started? Just do the first itty bitty baby step, whatever that might be. Then do the next.
• Everyday ask yourself, “What’s the ONE thing I can do, that by doing it, everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
• The key is to narrow down all the things that you could do, to the ONE Thing that you must do. Then it goes like this:
• The ONE Thing you should do today feeds into your ONE Thing this week, then this month… and so on. These small steps create the path to your ONE big goal.
• “One thing” is in reference to an idea. Pick one thing and focus completely to the one thing only.