How many of you are reluctant to sell your service and/or product? I certainly have been so let me share with you what is behind some of my reluctance.
Recently, I had my latest experience of the very thing that makes me wary of selling; the ‘I know best’ salesperson. I was at an airport with time to kill and had just had a gorgeous hand and arm treatment with a well-known fragrance house. This always puts me in a good mood, so I was feeling particularly mellow. Once finished, I continued to wander, until my I was interrupted by a ‘Would you like a quick make-over?’. ‘No’ I replied; ‘I prefer to fly without makeup on’, at which point she proceeded to tell me about how their latest product was more treatment than make-up. Well, I’m a fan of the brand and am always looking to find the elixir of a better skin, I said ‘OK then’. So, she sat me down and proceeded to go on with her patter and process, ignoring what I was saying. To cap it all, at the end when I said to her ‘Oh no, that’s far too heavy and cakey for me, please remove it’ she blamed me for not telling her what I wanted in the first place.
Why do I tell you this story? For me, it epitomises everything I dislike about sales and why I struggled with finding my way to sell. There was no real enquiry, non-listening and then the blaming. Some years ago, I would have felt guilty about this and somewhat responsible, but these days I acknowledge it for what it is; selling with little respect for the buyer.
But it need not be that way!
I heard myself say in a mastermind group recently that ‘an introvert on purpose is unstoppable; fluent, engaging, passionate and fearless’. So, what is your purpose? I love the Japanese concept of Ikigai which translates as ‘reason for being’. Ikigai occurs at the intersection of 4 circles; what you love doing, what you’re good at, what the ‘world’ needs and what you can charge for/ earn a living from.
What became clear for me is that the starting point of being able to share your gifts or ‘sell’ authentically as an Introvert, is making sure you are on purpose.
How clear are you on your purpose?
0 Comments