The Five Words You Should Never Say as an Entrepreneur
Sep 16, 2021Believe it or not, you are a salesperson. Now, you may be scratching your head at that saying, “Wait a minute, Tracy, you don’t even know me. How do you know I’m a salesperson?” The simple answer here is that we are all salespeople. Have you ever convinced a toddler to put on a coat when it’s freezing outside? You’re a salesperson. Have you ever convinced your friends to go to the restaurant you want to go to even though they’re all craving something different? You’re a salesperson. Have you ever helped a friend or family member solve a problem, referred them to a trusted specialist or a favorite hangout? You’re a salesperson. So, why do so many of us fall into the trap of trying to convince ourselves we are not? Why do we repeat those dreaded five words over and over again, ”I am not a salesperson”? We say this because we don’t truly understand what a salesperson is, so let’s take some time today to destigmatize it.
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Be a Problem Solver
Being a salesperson means that you have the uncanny ability to problem solve. Being a salesperson is not a bad thing. In fact, it simply showcases that you are a giver and that you are enthusiastic about sharing what you know in order to help others alleviate their pain points. Being a salesperson means that you’re willing to do what it takes to understand your client so well that any product or service recommendations that you make to them are certain to be a good fit. After all, you’re not trying to create more problems for your clients. You are finding the solutions from a place of integrity. That’s not to say that there aren’t those salespeople out there who might be approaching their sales tactics a bit aggressively, but they don’t have to overshadow the rest of us who are truly in it to help people problem solve.
Let’s look at an example of how this idea of being a salesperson can get skewed. I have a client who works at a health clinic and she contacted me the other day a bit upset. She was discussing treatment options with a patient and offering some recommendations and, ultimately, the gentleman signed up for their program based on what she had shared with him. Following the sign-up, he told her what a great salesperson she was and instantly, she felt as though she had done something wrong. I immediately stopped her in her tracks and reminded her to take this as a compliment. What did he actually mean by this comment?
When my client engaged with this patient, she listened deeply enough and asked enough of the right questions that she was able to find a solution that worked for him. He wasn’t insinuating that she had been sneaky in getting him to buy something. Rather, he was complimenting her because she didn’t take the opportunity to try to sell him things that he didn’t need. She simplified the process for him by being in integrity and finding a viable path forward. How might it shift your relationship to the word salesperson if you were able to look at it through this different lens?
The Key to Sales
The truth behind sales is that you don’t have to rely on schemes or sales tactics that feel aggressive or make your skin crawl. In fact, the more relatable, human and compassionate that you are in your interactions with your clients, the more that they will trust you and want to take your advice. Actively listen, ask follow-up questions and trust that your client will tell you what they need. Make it less about “closing the sale” and more about knowing your audience. If you make your pitch sales-y, your client will smell it from a mile away and it will offput them. Focus, instead, on reminding them why your service or product is valuable with the understanding that, even if you don’t close the sale that day, you’ve created the potential for them to reconnect with you later down the line or that perhaps they aren’t the right client for you, which leads me to my final point.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember about being a salesperson in a non-sales-y way is to be honest, at all costs. Tell people the truth, no matter what! If you’re product or service is not the best fit for somebody, tell them that! You may even go as far as to point them in the direction of a product or service that would be a better fit. After all, your job as a salesperson is to provide a solution, remember? Even if it means bypassing a sale in the moment, your integrity will stick with the client and it will come back to you somewhere later down the line. Think about the encounters you’ve personally had with salespeople. If you think back on it, you can probably remember at least a few times where you didn’t purchase the product or service, but you ended up recommending it to friends and family anyway because you trusted the integrity of the person you discussed it with. Put your clients needs before your own bank account and you will always remain in integrity.
So, where do you stand now with the idea of being a salesperson? Hopefully you’ve agreed to banish that five-word sentence we mentioned earlier from your vocabulary based on what we’ve shared with you today. If you’ve enjoyed these tips, don’t forget to keep checking back for our latest blogs. You can also join our Facebook group, “Be a Confident Entrepreneur: Gain Confidence and Grow Your Income” to join a whole community of like-minded individuals who are equally as committed as you are to growing their business in integrity. You may also choose to contact me directly via DM or through my website, www.tracybeavers.com, and book a discovery call to see how we might work together or check out my other online offerings.
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Video Transcript
Hey, they're my friends today. Entrepreneurs and salespeople listen up, I'm going to tell you the five words you should never, ever say. But first, I want to tell you who I am. I'm Tracy Beavers. I'm a business and sales coach, and my passion is helping small business owners and salespeople untangle the parts of their businesses that are no longer working. We find creative solutions, we find those disconnects and we get you going and reconnected back to growth in growth mode.
I love sales. I know that sounds crazy, but I do. And when I was sales director, I grew market share 86 percent the first year I was director. That's how much I love it. I know you think I'm nuts, but I want my clients to love sales to. Let's talk about the five words you should never say as an entrepreneur or salesperson. Any guesses? Any guesses about what they are? I am not a salesperson. Let me repeat it. I am not a salesperson. Do you know how many people I hear say this every day? Why does this frustrate me so much? And why is this something that you should never say? Because we are all salespeople. I mean, we are. Everyone. It doesn't matter if you have sales in your title or not. Every person on this planet is a salesperson. And I would argue that my dog is a salesperson, and he's probably one of the best salespeople you'll ever meet.
If you coach with me, you've heard me say this before. If you've ever convinced a toddler to wear a coat when it's 30 degrees below zero outside, you're a salesperson. If you've ever talked your friends into eating tacos because you want to tacos when they all want to cheeseburgers. You're a salesperson, if you've ever solved a problem for a friend, you've helped them find a great doctor, a great pair of shoes made a great restaurant recommendation. You're a salesperson.
I'm hoping that this resonates with you and some light bulbs are going off. Salespeople are problem solvers. They're givers. They share information to help others solve a pain point. They show how their recommendation for their product, or their service is the perfect one for the client, and it has to truly be the perfect one because we have to stay in integrity, right? We're not trying to sell people anything that's not a good fit for them or that they don't need when there might be a better solution out there. So that's it. That's all.
So let's take the stigma out of the word sales and being a salesperson, being in sales is not a bad thing, and being a salesperson isn't either. The problem is that there have been so many people being super spicy in their sales approach, and it's overshadowed the rest of us who are truly trying to help people find a great solution. I said, I love sales. You were always asking why? And it's because of what I just said, because being in sales means that I'm helping other people find their best solution for their best life, and that feels amazing to me.
One of my clients called me the other day and she was a little mad. She works in a health clinic. She had a new patient come in and they were discussing different treatments because he has daily pain and he's got some health issues and everything. Well, they walked through all the treatment plans and she made her recommendations and he signed up for their program. And then he said to her, You know, you're a really great salesperson. And she called me because she was a friend. She felt like she done something wrong.
And I said to her, Hold on, you need to take this as a compliment. He meant that you were his solution, that you listened to him, that you let him tell you everything that was wrong. Everything that was going on. You asked him great questions. You found him a wonderful solution. You are a great salesperson because but it's not because you're tricking him into buying a bunch of stuff he doesn't need. It's because you truly care. You ask the client what they need. You help them find the best treatment plan. You are a great salesperson because you care so much, and she's never thought of it that way before, and she felt a million times better. So if you shy away from the word sales or being a salesperson, it's because you've likely had some really bad experiences with some awful salespeople. I mean, I know I have, and it gets us thinking about sales all wrong.
You don't have to use weird sales tactics or schemes. You don't have to be aggressive. You don't have to be sleazy. You don't have to craft a dog and pony show with a big PowerPoint sales pitch presentation. Here's what you do have to do to be successful in sales. Be yourself. Be a human being who cares and actively listens. Ask great questions. The client will tell you exactly what they need and what they're looking to purchase. Detach yourself from the outcome. Forget about the sale. If you're focused on getting the sale, you're going to have what is commonly referred to as commission breath. The client's going to smell it. They're going to feel it in your energy and they're going to feel sold to and nobody likes to be sold to. Everybody likes to buy. Nobody likes to be sold to. If you tell yourself that you are their best solution and if they don't purchase, that's OK. They might purchase from you later on. Or maybe they aren't your ideal client after all that they might refer someone to you that they know. That's a great fit for what you've got.
And finally, I want you to be honest. You can be honest and tell people the truth. If your product or service isn't the best fit for them, stay in integrity and tell them you have detached yourself from a sale. You're being honest. You want to help them find their best solution. And I promise you, if you don't make a sale in that moment, it will come back to you later on down the road.
This is exactly how I've been successful in sales in every role I've ever had. When I was a mortgage loan officer, I had clients coming to me all the time. This was during the refinance boom of 2009, 10, 11 and oh my gosh! They had heard on the news that they needed to refinance their home. Well, when I talked through what they really wanted to do, their financial goals and what they really wanted. It turns out sometimes refinancing a house was not their best solution. I could have done their loan and I could have earned that commission. But I also have to sleep at night. And if it's not the best solution for the client, I'm not going to do it. They needed to stay where they were.
And my insurance agent is this way too. I tried to give that guy my business for years, but he would always tell me, You're in the right coverage for you right now. I cannot better your position. Stay where you are. And I'll tell you what that did for me. I send everybody to him. Now I finally have my insurance with him because my position, he could better it now, several years later. But I'm telling you, I tell everybody to go to him because. So honest, and he operates in integrity. So now are you feeling better about the word sales and saying you are a salesperson state in integrity? Be honest. But the client's needs before your own, before your own bank account. Don't have commission breath. Detach yourself from the outcome. When someone says you're a great salesperson, say thank you. Take it as a compliment and a sign that you truly are a problem solver and you're helping other people.
I hope these tips have helped you, and as always, I want to know what you think. I want to know what you'd like to learn more about or hear more of. If you’ll comment or like below and tell me I would love it if you want more content from me. Click the Subscribe button, which I think is somewhere down here, and click on the Subscribe button so you don't miss a weekly session.
And also check out my blog. TracyBeavers.com/blog. Lots of great content there. You're more than welcome to join my Facebook group. It is for entrepreneurs and salespeople just like you. It's a collaborative, supportive community where we all come together to help each other because being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. The name of the Facebook group is called Be a confident entrepreneur, gain confidence and grow your income, or should be a link in the description on this video. I will see you see my friends take care and be proud about being in sales.
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