Mind your own business

When are and when aren’t you selling?

I was recently invited into the office of a client just as he was just finishing up a phone call. As he put down the phone he looked at me and said, ‘I only ever hear from that guy when he wants something from me, never when he’s got something for me’

I found this interesting because I expect most of us would be mortified if that had been us on the other end of the phone. But when we are in business, whether it be providing a service, a product, or working in large organisation there are always times when we want things from people. So how do we create an environment where people want to help us?

When I was in direct sales one of the best pieces of advice I received was that ‘you make the sale on the calls when you’re not selling anything’. What my colleague meant was that you take a genuine interest in people. He kept in regular contact with his clients and would call on them to give them some useful information or maybe just to say ‘hi’. When he called regarding business people would give him the time to explain his ideas.

In his brilliant book ‘Influence’ Dr. Robert Cialdini talks about the law of reciprocation. He explains that people give back the sort of behaviour they have received. If you help people in the right way you create an efficient system for mutually profitable exchanges. Reciprocation is you, then me, then you, then me…

I know someone who sells highly complicated manufacturing machinery. He doesn’t believe in sales ‘techniques’. What he does believe in is showing his clients how they can make more money in less time by using his machines and he doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty in the process.

These are just different examples of creating value. In business people want to help those people from whom they perceive they get genuine value. How do you create value for others?

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