In 2011, I published a post called “Socially Networked“. In it I said:
Social Networking is not about computers, nicknames or virtual people. It is about connecting with real people with similar interests. It is about using the power of the internet to grow your business and nurture relationships!
Later in 2017, I posted a post called “How to market yourself online without selling it hard!“. Here I shared “5 ways you can market your business without selling your soul” and the first way I shared was this:
Forget about the sale and focus on helping and serving others. This may be hard when making the sale is important to keep the lights on but it does work. If you focus on helping others you will automatically start making sales. Some of the best sales people in the world are not pushy but rather focus on the customer and helping and solving their problems. Make them feel genuinely special – it seems to happen so rarely in the world we live in.
This is a necessary skill to develop, especially in the always-connected world that we live in where we are being sold things every where we look. We have to adjust the way we think about selling and growing our businesses.
What is your USP?
In my blog post, “What is your USP?”; I shared that Charles Revson (founder of Revlon) always used to say he sold hope, not makeup. Some airlines sell friendly service, while others sell on-time service. Woolworths sells quality, while Shoprite sells bargains.
Understanding what our USP is will help us to solve problems instead of making sales. . .but those sales will come because your desire to help comes from a more authentic place and this is so needed on the world wide web. If you can find a way to do this, your business will grow in leaps and bounds!
Hard selling, cold calling and reaching out to people with a desire to “make that sale” moved out with cassette tapes and neon laces. Is it time to look at your business differently? Maybe Yes, Maybe No? You decide!
