You’re the Boss 

Congratulations! You’re in business for yourself. Now what? 

For starters it means you have to sell something – yourself, your products or services, your ideas. 

Many people start a business doing what they love or, at the very least, what they’re good at. They have their own field of expertise but it’s not sales. They haven’t really thought about having to convince others to share their enthusiasm for their products or services. And they generally don’t know how to go about doing so. 

In fact, many people, just like you, strongly dislike the idea of selling or the stereotype of a salesperson. They don’t want to be counted among that loathsome breed. 

Reality check: you can’t stay in business, provide for yourself, your family, your employees or your pets if you don’t sell something. 

That’s why I’m here to show you a method of selling that is a lot more like teaching than anything you’ve experienced at the hands of your friendly, neighborhood sales pusher – er, I mean – person. 

I’m talking about providing results based on your customers’ needs and wants, benefits for their businesses and themselves, solutions that will make them look younger and feel better, save them money, reduce the amount of work they need to do, save them time, streamline operations, foster higher employee retention, increase sales, reduce costs or help them achieve their highest-level strategic priorities. 

It makes no difference whether you’re selling to other businesses or to consumers. If you focus on their needs and wants, you’ll earn a customer for the long term. 

Here’s how. 

Customer-Focused Solution Selling

“Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he’ll never go hungry.” 

You’re probably asking: “What does that have to do with sales?” 

Well, liken teaching a man to fish to becoming a trusted advisor to your customers. 

Your prospects are like hungry men in need of food. They’re looking for solutions to their problems – relief from their pain – food for their hunger. 

It might seem easy, like a slam-dunk, to just tell those needy prospects what to buy from you to solve their problems. But all that will get you is a sale (maybe). What you really want is a long-term relationship with that prospect-turned-customer. You want them to buy your solutions over and over again. You want them to trust you to advise them on the best ways for them to relieve their pain . . . now and in the future. 

How do you accomplish that feat? 

It’s easier than you might think. Just slow down and focus on the prospect’s needs. Ask them lots of questions. Learn about their business. Help them identify and articulate their pain and set priorities for relieving it. Help them see the value to their business, and to them personally, in choosing your solution for their problems. Allow them to see “what’s in it for them” to do business with you. 

Essentially, by focusing on their needs and not on your desired outcomes, you’re teaching your prospects and customers about the benefits of choosing your solution(s) over your competitors’. 

Some people call this the Socratic method of selling (or teaching). Ask the right questions and guide the prospect or customer (or student) to reach their own conclusions through their answers to those questions. 

First you’ll help the prospects identify their problems or needs. Next you’ll help them see what it’s costing to not fix those problems or fill those needs – allowing them to experience the pain created by those problems or needs and to place a value on resolving them. Then you’ll develop a solution for those problems and needs and illustrate to your prospects (in large part by asking more questions) how your solution will relieve their pain and create value for their business and themselves. 

This process works because the prospects sell themselves: in thinking through their answers to your questions, in identifying their problems, in prioritizing and placing value on resolution of their problems and proving to themselves how your solution “works for them.” 

Throughout this process you have positioned yourself as an advisor to your prospect, rather than as a salesperson with your own agenda. You have helped your prospect “see the light”, to achieve their desired outcome. They have reached their own conclusion with your help. You have offered your expertise and your know-how, not just what you sell. You have earned their trust. As their trusted advisor you’re in the picture for the long haul. If they didn’t buy from you this time (hey, it could happen), you can be pretty certain they will in the future. Stay in touch with them. Nurture your relationship with them. Continue in your capacity as their trusted advisor. 

That gets us to some new topics – customer service and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) – that we’ll explore in other articles. 

Ó 2005 Patrick A. Hassett. All rights reserved. 

Pat Hassett draws on more than 30 years experience in sales, sales management and sales support roles across several industries. He stands ready to help you increase your sales, your profitability and your customer loyalty through the use of customer-centric sales methods, high level customer service and customer relationship management tools. To learn more about how SalesNow! can help you, go to www.salesnowonline.com or write to infalesNowOnline.com. 

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