Like it or not, you're in sales: Here's a new framework

• Everyone's in sales
• Sales isn't sleazy
• Sales is about care
• Improve your skills.

1. Everyone's in sales

Do you connect with other people to make things happen? Great, you're in sales.

Whether you have 'sales' in your job description or not, you spend an average of 40% of your time selling*. You sell your ideas, yourself, or your solutions, to move others in a certain direction.

2. Sales isn't sleazy

In a session with senior managers in local government yesterday, I suggested we work on our sales skills. If you're serving a community and dealing with politicians, you need to be skilled in connecting with others to create change. But when I tabled it, here's what people said:

• Sales feels icky
• Council's not a business
• Salespeople are con artists
• I don't have the gift of the gab
• I feel fake and disingenuous when I'm selling something.

These are common feelings. Sales has a slimy reputation, conjuring up 1980s Wall Street dudes, and grimy car salespeople. But that's old news. The hard sell is dead. 

Now, customers are highly autonomous, highly informed, highly suspicious, and don't want to be told what to do.  Just like your friends, colleagues, stakeholders and work mates.

The old model doesn't work. Slime and manipulation doesn't work. You can't convince someone to do something that isn't good for them - and if you can, it won't stick for long, and your reputation will be damaged in the process.

We sell new ideas to help people achieve their goals and solve their problems. We're partners on their path to progress. Sales is about care.

3. Sales is about care

Curiosity, attunement, recommendation, and empowerment. These four strands work together to build connection, add value, provide clarity, and create change.

Here's how it works.

Curiosity: Ask questions

Salespeople used to have all the information. The customer asked them questions. Now, the playing field is more level, so the game has changed.

Don't assume anything about the person you're speaking with, and show a genuine interest in what's happening for them. Whether you're selling a restructure, a change programme, or a product or service, you need to ask, before you can tell. 

Great questions include:

• What's hard for you right now?
• What would it be like if we solved that?
• Where do you want to be 6 months from now?
• What matters the most to you at the moment?

Note: I had a sales call with a service provider this week where they didn't ask me a single one of those questions. It took 17 minutes (yes, I timed) for them to ask me a question - which was a set-up for them to talk. The solution they pitched had nothing to do with why I'd scheduled the call. No surprises there - they didn't know anything about my business, my challenges, or my goals! Needless to say, I didn't buy.

Attunement: Validate and alleviate

Attunement is all about empathy and understanding. We make sense of the other person's experience, and help them see a way forward. 

You build empathy when you validate the experience of your customer, stakeholder or client. Statements like "I understand you're scattered. That makes sense, a lot of people are stretched right now" work to mirror and reassure the other person there's nothing wrong with them.

You build understanding when you alleviate their struggle with your knowledge and expertise. Name and contextualise their experience, and contextualise the issue: "There are three main drivers of burnout. Here's how it works."

Recommendation: Diagnose and prescribe

When you've been curious, and built attunement, you've earned the trust to make a recommendation. This is where traditional 'selling' comes in - but with an important difference.

Nobody wants to be told what to do, but when they trust you, they do want your advice. Think less like a car salesman, and more like a surgeon: i.e. "Based on our conversation, here is my diagnosis and prescription." 

This isn't about convincing, pitching, or desperation. The surgeon isn't convincing their patient to replace their hip. They're offering an expert prescription, and being clear about the risks involved.

Here's some prompts:

• Here's what I recommend in situations like this...
• Would you like to know my suggested next steps? 

Empowerment: Make an invitation

Unless you ask for the sale, you won't get it. Even when people want what you have to offer, they need a prompt.

In 2023, people have more choice and agency than ever., and they don't want to be told what to do. Instead, extend an invitation. Don't persuade - pass the baton, and see what they do with it. When commitment is volunteered, it sticks.

How to make an invitation:

• "I'd love you to join us. Would you like to join?"
• "What would you like to do next?"
• "Would you like to book the surgery?" 

4. Improve your sales skills

No matter what your job title is, you're in sales. Avoiding that reality limits your impact. Level up your sales skills by showing more CARE.

• Curiosity: Ask questions
• Attunement: Validate and alleviate
• Recommendation: Offer a prescription
• Empowerment: Make an invitation

* Source: To Sell Is Human by Dan Pink