You Aren’t ‘Sales-y’, You Just Don’t Have The Skills

You want to grow your business, but the one thing that you know you need is sales. Except you have this achy feeling in your stomach that's telling you, 'oh don't be sales-y'. I don't know who you are, where you are, or what business you run. However, I'm willing to bet that you fall into this 'don't be sales-y' rabbit hole of not initiating conversations which leads to not selling, which eventually leads to not having a business.

If you're reading this, I assume that your goal is not to allow your business to fail. Today I'm going to talk about what it means to be sales-y, how to avoid it, and how to overcome that fear so that you can go and make some money. Ready? Let's go.

The Definition of Sales-y

What is 'sales-y', anyways?

The number one fear I hear again and again is 'I don't want to come off sales-y'.  Let's stop there for a minute. What in the world is sales-y? Your idea of being 'sales-y' is just a lack of skillset mixed with poor timing.

Example: Imagine if I received a message, ' Hey Ray, I need some help'. If I were to immediately respond, 'Do you want to jump on a call? I'm going to sell you', it's likely I wouldn't receive a response. For this particular individual, my response was horribly timed. They're in the information-gathering stage, or maybe they don't even know what their problem is in the first place. In this situation, I jumped some steps and went straight for the sale. That is being 'sales-y'. 

This is a prime example of lacking the ability to build relationships.  I jumped to the pitch a bit too soon.  If you don't want to be sales-y, just don't do that. However, I think what's more important to talk about is this concept of being 'sales-y'. Is it even a real concept? The answer, honestly, is no. Here's why: everyone is at a different stage in their buying journey. Let me explain.

The Stages of A Buyer’s Journey

Stage One

Some entrepreneurs are just starting their businesses and have no idea what their needs are. Building a relationship with this category of potential clients consists of marketing them by educating them on their pain points. They aren't ready for you to pitch them.  

Stage Two

Some entrepreneurs know what their problem is. Entrepreneurs in this stage need to gather information in order to find the right person to solve their problem, or at least get them from point A to point B.  Are they ready to be pitched yet? Maybe, but probably not. 

Stage Three

Lastly, is that one percent of individuals who are ready to buy today. They just need to find the right person. They need to find you. These entrepreneurs are ready for a pitch. 

Moral of The Story

The concept that we consistently battle with, is this question of 'when in the world should I pitch?'.  Here's the answer you weren't expecting:  whenever the h$#l you want to. Yes, you could push away a few people. That doesn't matter. What matters, is that you keep initiating those conversations. Eventually, you'll come across those 'stage three' buyers. 

Elevate your mindset.

Elevate your skillset. 

Elevate your business. 

Coach