Selling or Persuading?
Happy Wednesday,
Business leaders today have access to more information than ever before. And they're processing this data and making buying decisions faster with AI. But that doesn’t mean they have everything figured out. Your ability to take data and persuade becomes more important than ever as a managerial and sales tool.
Before I make my point below on selling vs persuading, let’s get some definitions out of the way:
Sales = the exchange of something of value for money.
Persuasion = to cause someone to do something through reason or emotional appeal; to cause someone to believe something, especially after a sustained effort.
Reflect for a minute. Are you approaching a sales scenario as trying to facilitate an exchange for some sort of reward? Or are you trying to understand what their incentives are and which structures underpin their emotions to then make a case? Over focusing on your end goal is where most sales interactions fall apart.
[With your partner] “I want to watch a movie” vs “You told me you love cozy nights and quality time. Doesn’t a movie sound nice?”
[With your manager] “When can I expect you to promote me?” vs “I know you value business impact and career development. No one has driven better team outcomes than me. Are you opposed to having a conversation about promotion?”
[With a client] “We really recommend you buy this ___” without knowing the client’s business objectives, what’s at stake for them in the workplace, or how the buyer is (or isn’t) personally invested.
Don’t just “sell.” Sell persuasively.
When trying to engage with anyone that you’re trying to influence, ground yourself in their motivations, uncover how you can add value, and find a way to enhance their current situation.
71%
Think that your client doesn’t want to talk to you? That might only be partially true. 71% of B2B buyers want to talk to sellers when they're looking for new ideas and possibilities to drive stronger business results (source). If your unresponsive rate is significantly less than ~⅔, it’s most likely you’re not proving your capability as a thought partner in your initial outreach. More on that in a future newsletter.