First things first, if you haven’t experienced the brilliance of RSA Shorts, head over to their Youtube page (which also has their full length video speakers, all are excellent). The cartoon presentation of these clips from great speeches is something that needs to be shared in classrooms, boardrooms, living rooms and anywhere else where problem-solving takes place. The video short this blog deals with is below.
Selling is scary, and I admit to struggling with the sales side of my work at times. I’m not a salsey-styled communicator, and transitioning into the sales part of conversations can be tricky for people who don’t think of themselves as having something to sell. Here’s what I’m still learning about this: the #1 thing we sell is ourselves. Be honest, put others’ best interests at the forefront, and make meeting their needs with your talents the #1 priority and you’re on the right track. Keeping that in mind takes the sales fears out of focus.
In the video “The ABC’s of Persuasion” states (and as life in the new-economy states as well), we are all in sales, regardless of our career path (yes,for musicians too!). Even if you work for someone else, scoot to and from work at a bureaucracy, or are still living at home with you parents prior to (or after) graduation, you’re selling something. Grant Cardone (personal sales hero of mine) has a great book about selling called Sell Or Be Sold, where he articulates that selling is intrinsic in our culture and in our lives. If we’re not selling something, we’re being sold to. It’s best to be on the selling end of that exchange when you can.
For businesses with a handful of employees or those will a large staff, we all can learn how to be better at selling. The keys to this come down to some very fundamental aspects to human connection and not a “you need this app, master this subject, and know how to do these 5 things,” approach. There are too many How-To books that sell that formula and most of them are bogus. The keys to selling anything have more to do with you and your sincere interest in making other people’s lives better with your product or service.
Musicians can also take advice from this video because you sell yourself to your fan base with every song release, performance, project, and connection point you have with them. You’re selling yourself and the experience you provide. That’s what brings fans to you.
Persuasion often gets confused with manipulation and lying. Most often that confusion comes from our bad experiences. The last time I was sold on something that a salesman convinced me I absolutely needed, only to discover that not only was there something else out there that was better, but I had paid too much, led me to distrust most sales people. We all do this. But then again, we’re all sales people too, so putting myself or the next sales guy/girl I come across in the boat of liars and thieves is unfair. Not all persuasive people are evil, and not all good people are persuasive. Marketing and sales success depends greatly on our ability to be both sincere and persuasive.
Attunement, buoyancy, and clarity are the three aspects of persuasion mentioned in the video and what I believe are the keys to the kingdom for success in marketing and sales, as well as any business or professional endeavor you take on. You have to be about to sell yourself to gain anything. In essence, we sell ourselves when we are trying to sell something to grow our business. This is especially true in small business where the lead manager or owner is often wearing the hats of manager, laborer, sales-person, marketer and customer-relations. Your clients buy from you because they’re sold on your sincere interest in helping them and your talents to execute the job. It’s up to us as individuals and team members to learn how to apply these aspects of persuasion to our unique businesses.
Need help establishing your persuasion or want to share how you’ve executed attunement, buoyancy and clarity in your music or business to create new levels of growth? Please leave a comment and let me know. We can compare stories and help each other.
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