Kim Klaver asked:


Lots of comments about how to deal with the perception:

“Beware of friends who sell what they recommend.”

They’re continuing to come in, so I’ll announce a raffle winner tomorrow.

(Interesting how many commenters seem to be in denial about this perception. Accept it. People have it. Many people would buy from us if they didn’t. Easy to blame the people. The more challenging question is: how do we stop fostering that perception?)

I promised some suggestions to help minimize this perception…here are three.

1. Be transparent. Before you say one word, ever, to anyone you know, about the wonders of your product let them know you are selling it. First. So your comments can be taken with the right grains of salt by the other person.

2. Be out there about “why” you are selling it. Everyone wants to buy stuff. We all like to buy what we want from someone we can relate to - someone who seems knowledgeable and cares about what they’re selling.

Everyone also needs to make a living, and we all know that.

So if you market earth-friendly cleaning products because you have long been an environmentally concerned person, let people know that about you. So the connection between what you do for a living and your personal passion is clear.

Plus your recommendations will mean more to someone who’s not quite as conscious about the environment as you, but is becoming more so. You can assume a person will figure that you could have sold ANY earth-friendly product line. So if you chose this one, it must be pretty good.

3. Limit your gushing or crowing about the products. Other than your personal story about it, and why you are now selling it, limit the “It’s just the best, life altering, one-of-a-kind, proprietary, patented, amazing, new and exciting, etc.” verbiage. The more you say about its wonders, the more uncomfortable you make everyone else, because they know you are selling it. You start looking like the pushy sales type most women try to get away from quick.

Just tell your before and after story - that first date script.

Then, you can ask, “Uhh, do you know anyone who might like to know about a product like that? Or who might want to help me find more customers? Let me know, ok?”

Smile, let go and be first to change the subject.



KRISTIN

Kim Klaver asked:


So, you can’t get people to buy your product or service? Before you go forward another minute with your business, ask yourself:

Would you use your product/service if you were not selling it, yes or no?

Be honest with yourself.

If yes, ask for and find people in the right niche – those who feel like you do already or who know those sorts – like looking for a tennis partner in a new town.

If not, look for a product line or service to market that you DO love and that you would use even if you weren’t selling it.

If you don’t love what you sell madly, you will come across like well, just a ‘professional sales type’ – someone who’s selling for it the money. Would you want to buy from someone like that?

I’d rather buy from an amateur- someone who is ga ga about something and is telling me about it because they love it themselves first, and I know they are interested and knowledgeable about that kind of thing anyway.

Think an environmentalist marketing earth-friendly cleaning products.

When someone doesn’t have genuine, strong feelings about the thing they’re selling, we all know it, don’t we? Faked ‘excitement’ becomes transparent in a New York minute.

Who wants to be perceived as one of those types?

P.S. Here’s that distinction between professional and amatuer which I love so madly…

“Amateur is not below professional. It’s just another way of doing [business/media]. The root of the word amateur is love, and someone who does something for love is an amateur. Someone who does something to pay the bills is a professional. The amateurs have [more integrity than] the professionals. If you’re an amateur you have less conflict of interest and less reason not to tell your truth than if you have to pay the bills and please somebody else.”



MABEL