Not only do I hate selling, I can be darned good at it, which makes it worse.
And in our culture, the entire sales process is a real turn-off for most people. The US no longer has a wide spread “haggling” habit. If I want it for the price marked, I’ll buy it. Otherwise, forget it. And if you try to actually sell something to the general public, they get cranky and resistant.
BUT. . . we love to buy! For most of the world, shopping is not something they do to pass the time, like it is here in the States. For most of the world, going shopping for goods and services is still a necessity, not a leisure activity.
So, if you depend on making sales for a living – and I can’t think of a single entrepreneur or small business that doesn’t – how do you get around this obstacle? Especially if you, like me, hate to sell?
The answer is deceptively simple, and I’m working on a couple longer-form answers to that. But in a nut shell: be a recognized expert, and people will flock to you, instead of you having to go knocking door to door.
What is a recognized expert? And what does it take to become one? That’s the long-form answer! Stick around, and we’ll get to it.