Can You Really Sell This Way?
Do high-pressure sales offend you? Are you sick of being a “target” for a salesperson trying to meet a quota?
Do you yearn for a sales professional who “gets” you and what you want and tries her best to deliver that to you?
Me too! Many of the service professionals I talk to are just done with old-school sales where what you want and need are not as important as making the sale.
Recently I realized that the best approach to selling is not selling. It even goes beyond serving.
A radical approach to selling
The best approach to selling with integrity and authenticity is LOVE. Loving the other person, loving yourself, loving the process and the possibility of transformation.
Surprised? Me too!
I am delighted, heartened, and frankly relieved to think that LOVE can and should be the central focus of sales.
I was listening to Marianne Williamson talk about sales and money in her weekly A Course in Miracles lecture.
You may know of Marianne from her famous quote that Nelson Mandela used in his inaugural speech (it is often attributed to him). From her book A Return to Love, it goes:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us.”
What Marianne Williamson said about sales is, “Send love before you.” She means imagine that you are holding the person you are about to meet in love and bless them. You are creating a cocoon of safety and reverence for you both.
This is not soft teddy bear love
If you have heard Marianne Williamson speak, you know she’s not talking about soft, teddy bear love. She is smart, articulate, and opinionated. You might even say she’s fierce.
She’s not talking about love that has no boundaries or allows manipulation or disrespect for either party. She is talking about love that comes from Truth with a capital “T”.
By sending love before you, you are honoring yourself, you are respecting the other person, and you are holding the vision of a desired possibility coming into reality for your prospect and for yourself.
For instance, imagine that, by working with you, your prospect has a breakthrough and finds
- the love she desires or
- the health that has eluded her or
- more money or
- fulfilling work or
- a spiritual connection that she longs for.
And you get to do your work of facilitating that transformation, which is your strong desire and commitment.
How do you embrace love in the sales process?
This is a rich subject to continue to explore in the future, but here are my thoughts for today:
- Enter a space of love before you talk with your prospect about what you do and about working with you.
- Imagine both of you surrounded by a bubble of love.
- Let this love bubble support you both in your conversation.
- The other person will know how to respond in her best interests and so will you.
How about trying it?
Does thinking about sales based on love allow you to relax a bit when you think about selling?
Do you feel you can include more of your authentic self?
Does it feel radical but right to you, scary and exciting too?
What would it be like if you approached everyone you meet this week with reverence and love – including yourself?
Do you think it might change the energy and reality of your business?
I think it’s worth an experiment. Will you join me?