Please Be More Salesy

What's wrong with being salesy?

I deal with this every day, but particularly over the past couple of weeks, I've had a few clients tell me that they're progressing slowly with their opportunities, taking care not to come across as pushy or overbearing.

"Okay, but what next steps do you have defined and scheduled?"

"None yet. I'm going to give them a little time and then follow up with them." 

"Hmmm..." 🤨

Purposely putting yourself in follow-up prison is a subject for another piece, so I won't get into that here, but seriously?

Slowing things down decreases your chance of winning for multiple reasons. First, more time allows for things outside of your control in life to pop up and get in the way of the deal. That's no fun. You don't need to hurry, but there's no reason to let things take longer than they should.

Most significantly, when you purposely slow sales processes down, you're releasing the amount of tension in the deal itself. This doesn't just mean the sale will take longer. It dramatically reduces the chances that it will happen at all.

Your prospects need you to help them stay engaged in their buying process, especially if they're solving big, hairy problems with complicated solutions. It's uncomfortable to lean in and untangle those messes. They need someone to give them some guidance, provide some solutions to help them, and also encourage them when things get tricky.

They're looking to you for help, and you're not giving it to them. You're shying away from doing your job, and you're shooting yourself in the foot.

Let's talk about the word itself. "Salesy" sounds like someone who makes sales. That's what it means when we add that -y at the end of words. You read pieces like this because you want to make more sales, right?

I'd like you to be more salesy, and honestly, you'd like that too.

Before you get carried away and think I'm advocating that you turn to some manipulative tactic, let me reassure you. I don't want you to resort to anything that's going to be pushy or overbearing. I just want you to remember what your job is.

You don't need to push, but things need to move.

You don't need to annoy, but you need to be persistent.

You don't need to make anybody buy before they're ready, but you can't afford to slow things down.

Nobody wins when you don't help advance your opportunities forward. You don't win. Your company doesn't win. Your prospect doesn't win. Their customers don't win.

That's a problem.

Here's a little thought exercise for you. Define "salesy" for yourself. What does it mean?

You're probably thinking of all the bad sales experiences you've had in your life, and how those people made you feel. We've all had them. Write down a list of emotions you felt. You don't want to make people feel that way, and I don't want you to either.

Now think about the things that need to be done to help your prospects buy. You need to have thoughtful conversations about the problems they're trying to solve. You need to talk about what happens if they don't solve those problems. You need to hold them accountable for the steps they need to take to solve them. You need to collaborate on deadlines for these actions, and so forth.

In other words, there's a huge gap between what needs to be done and how you're afraid to do it, and there's a ton of room in that gap for you to Sell Like You.

Think about how you can best help them solve their problem. Think about how you can best ask for next steps. I don't want you to do it like those traumatic sales experiences in the past, but you need to remember what your job is.

Ask great questions. Stir up emotions. Tell the truth and give your prospects the room to say things out loud that they need to hear themselves say. Then ask about what it will take to move forward.

Help them make the best decisions for themselves and their business. That's the kind of salesy we should all be able to get behind.