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Job titles and narrow job descriptions often stand in the way of being effective. It may sound counterintuitive, but by focusing excessively on what we are “supposed to do” we can lose touch with our customers and become irrelevant.
Let’s look at one example: “A” is a mortgage broker who defines his job as “selling mortgages”. He wants to sell more, so he increases the frequency of his sales calls. After trying this for a while, he notices that he’s not closing more sales.
Broker “B” also wants to increase her sales, but instead of jumping to conclusions she does some research. She finds out that most of her prospective customers can’t buy a house because they haven’t saved enough for a down payment.
She then takes a step back and organizes a series of free seminars at the local library or community center, where she teaches people how to stick to a budget and save. Then, she asks for permission to send them a monthly email newsletter, where she continues to give tips and talk about the latest developments of the mortgage market.
All things being equal, who do you think has a better chance of turning prospects into customers? I would say “B”. While broker “A” is thinking “me”, broker “B” is thinking “them”. I can almost hear Broker “A” react and spout off: “I’m a mortgage broker not a teacher! My job is to sell mortgages”. The reality, however, is that teaching and selling are two sides of the same coin. They’re all about educating and adding value.
Business blogs are the perfect example. Businesses that have taken a step back and launched a blog to develop a relationship with prospects before they are ready to buy are usually the most successful.
- If you are a golf tour operator, create a blog about golf news and golf course reviews.
- If you own an off-road supply business, post detailed how-to articles and videos on how to fix and accessorize your truck (or publish a companion magazine if your old-school customers won’t go online).
- If you’re a small business selling fishing lure, start a blog to share great fishing stories and tips .
- If you are an executive recruiter, blog about common issues facing job seekers in today’s job market.
Selling involves more than just finding more mechanisms to push stuff. Take a step back to see what drives your prospects to buy, and if you find a problem help them solve it. Business usually follows.
Hey thanks for the post and the link! These are some good points and I wish other business owners would start listening in
@Jason:
Thanks for taking the time to drop by and leave your comments. I was really impressed with the story of Brown Lures when I read it first in John Jantsch’s blog. You’re living proof that this stuff works.
Mario,
Great tips for people in all industries. It does seem that more businesses are getting on board with this line of thinking. We always use the phrase dollars follow value. Create value and serve others, then you can hope to be rewarded. Most don’t want to create value until they are paid which leads them to falling short.
More interaction with customers on a personal level that’s a point I picked up in your article. Don’t just think about yourself all the time. Forget the money or the sales, think about your prospective customers and engage with them on a personal level, establish a relationship and that way the sales will come in. Cheers for this one. Oh good examples as well…
I’ve had some good success with EzineArticles for driving more people to my blog. What’s your best traffic source? Any other sales tips you could share?