Small Business Revolution

7The Craft of Persuasion

IF YOU ASK people who know me how they might describe me, you'll sometimes hear: “Barry's a sales guy.” That certainly is one of the many hats I wear proudly. But here's the thing:

We all are salespeople. And as business owners, we must be persuasive salespeople. If you can't represent your business in a compelling way, who will?

“Hang on!,” you protest. “I'm not a salesperson, I'm an artist. I have a pottery studio and I only display my works. I never push them on people.” Pushing is different than selling. When pushing, someone is making another person uncomfortable enough to act in a way not in their own interest. In selling, you are sharing the benefits of a product and matching those benefits with the customer's needs in a persuasive way. Pushing and persuasively selling are different things.

I do understand the aversion to “pushing.” But if you have decided you are above persuading others that your product or service is best, or you are unwilling to represent yourself or your product aggressively, you will likely never be a successful businessperson.

If you really believe in a product or service, and really believe it is the right solution for a customer, when you “sell” a product you are simply sharing your conviction that the product is right for a customer.

Without selling, there are no sales and there is no business. At its root, business is about selling. As outlined earlier, accept and make peace with this along with all the other realities ...