Selling Without Selling is NOT Possible

The biggest business-destroying advice that is being fed to professionals these days is that they can sell without selling. Gurus proclaim that no selling is involved and build training programs touting the same message. People are misled by this guidance that suggests that to close business and increase the bottom line, all they have to do is listen, share, serve, educate and be authentic.

Sure, those are all key components to selling, but they only get you so far. These things aren’t enough to consistently convert an interested prospect into an invested client.

Selling is required on the path to prosperity.

That would be like saying, All right, universe, I am sharing like crazy, why is my business headed for the ditch? Okay, I have been listening all month, and I still have no clients? Why are prospects telling me they can’t afford me when I am oozing authenticity? I am serving, but no one is buying what I am selling.

I believe you can sell without being aggressive. You can sell without being annoying, pushy or transactional. You can sell without using slimy or sleazy tactics. And you can sell without selling your soul.

But it is impossible to sell without selling.

The so-called experts and gurus offering destructive half-truths about selling without selling fail to mention the insight and proficiency involved in attracting and driving new business and closing more sales. They neglect to tell you about the strong skillset required to move a sales conversation to a successful ending. 

There is no business model on the planet that requires zero selling. Subscribing to a no-selling required sales model is the quickest way to destroy your business.

I know that the concept of selling without selling is alluring for professionals who don’t enjoy the transaction. This new fangled pitch is enticing for people who don’t want to go anywhere near a sales funnel where rejection is possible. They would prefer to let perfectly good prospects slip through their fingers rather than sell.

Many people resort to calling sales something other than what it is because of the negative feelings they have around the act. Their mindset prevents them from stepping into a sales situation with confidence and closing the business. When they shift the negative associations, they can change their paycheck.

Many people may have negative feelings about the words “budget” and “diet.” People call them other things, such as a savings plan, future funding, healthy eating program, or lifestyle food plan to lessen the impact, even though the work necessary to accomplish their goals is exactly the same. Slap a different label on it, but you are still eating less, moving more. You are still spending less, saving more.

If you have a business and you want to stay in business, you must embrace selling.

The perception that sales and selling is bad is outdated. If you don’t like to sell, it means that you are doing it wrong. It means that you have not found a way to sell that feels good to you. It means that you have not discovered an approach that honors you and your prospective client. Stepping in with courage and determination into a sales conversation is the most powerful aspect of your business. And, it is how you get paid!

The next time someone attempts to sell you on the fact that you don’t have to sell in business, you have two options:

1. Run like hell in the opposite direction, or
2. Test that disgraceful myth for yourself, and watch the slow and painful death of your business.

If you lack the skills to connect with others, to build high-trust relationships, to lead a powerful and purposeful sales conversation, and to close business, it does not matter. What does close sales is a concrete understanding of the dynamics of human behavior and knowing what it takes to impact, inspire, and influence today’s consumer in their buying decisions.

If you continue to believe that you can sell without selling you will have to get used to clients walking away and telling you they have to think about it. You will have to get used to earning less.

You can make a significant contribution to your bottom line if you don’t buy into the BS that you can sell without selling. Sales are the only way for every business to stay in business.

Once you find an approach to selling that works for you and fits you like a custom-made coat, you will never want to be without it again.