
The key word is authentic!
The Two Golden Rules
The first golden rule of authentic selling, Be Yourself!
I don’t care whether you’re introverted or extroverted or whatever you are, just be yourself! If you’re analytical, be analytical. If you love stories, tell stories. Whatever you are, just be you.
My second golden rule of authentic selling is to Get Over Yourself.
So yes, you have to be yourself. But… you’ve still got to get out there, and you’ve got to take charge of your business and take charge of the sale. You are the expert in your business and others are wanting and waiting for you to lead. All you have to do is give yourself the permission to lead.
Putting the Golden Rules into Action
1. Action One – Mindset
When I am coaching people how to sell – I first start helping them to think differently about selling. You have to do this so you can be yourself in that role. To free your mindset from the preconceptions of selling that makes it icky. The problem is if you think that it’s an icky, sticky, pushy thing, then how you approach it is going to be all wrong. You have to change your mindset and get that right to make the actions you then take meaningful.
When I think about what makes authentic selling it is helping people make a buying decision (that’s right for them). When you’re thinking focuses on your client and helping them – it just makes everything that follows easier. It makes the conversation flow.
2. Action Two – Taking Action
Once you have the right mindset it’s so much easier to take the right actions.
The right actions are born out of helping and start with listening and understanding your client. It is also about showing people how you operate and help people (just like them). This is the foundation of authentic selling. When I work with people on this, it might just be changing a few words, or giving you permission to say what you think, or giving you the right words and stories that work for you to explain how you work.
Either way, the truth is that people we meet want us to tell them what to do and how best to work with you. Put simply, this is what authentic selling is. Once you see the reaction of people to this new confident, clear you … this works to reinforce your new approach, actions and mindset to authentic selling.
3. Action Three – Reframing Results
The last thing I want you to view is your results.
One of the reasons people get really nervous about selling is that they focus on that end point, they focus on the sale. That’s the wrong thing to focus on! Think instead about focusing on each step of your sales process. Practice being present with where your client is at and what they need at this stage in your process. As you do more of this, this will be become more natural and better yet, you will LOVE the results. Authentic selling is about helping clients, about being of service. It’s about guiding them through your sales process. When you think about results in authentic selling, I want you to think about the wins you get with each step. Each win is about the client, not about you.
When you meet someone new, that’s a win. If they ask for more information, that’s a win. If they don’t want more information, that’s still a win, because you’ve had time to practice and you have learned which clients might not fit with you. When you get a proposal out there, that’s a win. Every little step is a win, every step is an opportunity for you to reflect and learn.
The truth is once you focus on each of these steps, consistently, you will get the sales in the door. But if you’re focusing on the end, right at the beginning, you’ll never get there.
Power move – putting the rules together!
The power of authentic selling is most evident when you put these two Golden Rules together – being authentic and giving yourself permission to lead your customer. That’s when selling doesn’t feel like selling at all. It just feels like standing in your truth and showing people how you can help them.
So go out there – be yourself and give yourself permission to lead
If you know you need some more clarity on your mindset, activity or results … reach out!
I would love to hear your experiences. Share away!
For the love of sales,
Frances!