Ways to Avoid Coming Across Like a Salesperson
On your journey to build relationships, you have developed a substantial web presence by sharing your content and interacting with your online connections. You share in order to help. Always avoid giving people the hard sell no matter what.
Your main objective for writing and syndicating content in your niche or industry is to provide other people with valuable, educational, and useful information. As you share more and more of your content, you start to build stronger and stronger relationships with the people in your online communities. You establish yourself as a subject matter expert (SME) and you keep strengthening your credibility and your reputation by interacting with others and consistently providing them with information that can help them to solve their problems. There is no other motive for you whatsoever. Nobody wants to be “sold.”
A right time and a wrong time
From a practical perspective, as a business owner, there will come a time, of course, when you will be selling your goods and/services. Just remember that your approach to selling your offerings to other people must be done in the most appropriate and unobtrusive manner possible. An appropriate place to connect your readers with what you are selling is at the bottom of your article in a resource box on your landing page. It is very important to remember that you shouldn’t consider selling anything until you feel that the relationship with the other person is strong enough to withstand it. The trust and credibility must have a very strong foundation before that point. Always remember to avoid (at all cost) allowing your content to sound like a commercial. If you don’t avoid this, you may suffer consequences in two very important ways: your readers may reject you and your articles may be turned down for publication. Most of the article directories have strict guidelines about what they will and won’t accept for publication. Self-promotion is a giant no-no!
There are several things that you must try to avoid when it comes to your content:
- No name dropping: You should try to keep your content as generic as possible when discussing product brand names. It is ok to mention specifics in the resource box but it is not ok to mention specifics in the body of your article. You should use the article to give your readers helpful tips and tricks, and other pieces of information that you feel they will find valuable. If you provide them with useful information, they will keep coming back to you for more.
- Avoid mentioning money: Anytime you mention a price in your content, you are automatically trying to sell what you have to other people. There is simply no place for it in the content that you are providing to others. That is what goes on an advertisement. Never use blatant sales text in your articles.
- Not educating your customers: It is extremely important to communicate in as transparent a way as possible. This transparency should start at the very beginning of your relationship and follow through forever. The more honest and forthright you are with other people, the more they will respect and trust you. If you include this in the foundation of your relationship, it will take you very far.
- Not being able to put yourself in other people’s shoes: If you are able to make other people understand that you are one of them and that you truly understand what they are going through and how they feel, they will relate to you on a human (and emotional) level. You should never give them the impression that you are different (or God forbid, above) them. First of all, it isn’t true and second of all, you won’t get anywhere with an attitude like that.
Conclusion
Your focus should always be on helping other people. If you put them first, you won’t run the risk of being misunderstood or coming across negatively. Your objective should be to continue to build credibility and knowledge and to continue to hold the position of being the person who others come to when they need answers. You should remember that you are selling something every time you interact with another person online. What you are selling is creative thought, valuable information, and compelling and exciting interactions.
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Hi Carolyn,
I like your tips here.
1 thing to note: avoid sounding salesly, but don't bury your opportunity or product under layer after layer of boundaries. Some home based sponsors use this approach due to lack of belief in the product of service. Believe. Offer value. Help people…and never hesitate to share what you have to offer in the appropriate place.
The resource box is a winner. Another key area is a sales page located on your blog. Set up a dedicated page describe what goods or services you offer. As you spread value over a consistent period of time your offering becomes that much more attractive and compelling
Thanks for sharing your insight.
RB
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: American Marketing Association of New Jersey
Discussion: Ways to Avoid Coming Across Like a Salesperson
Very simple way to avoid coming across like a salesperson: put the customer's well being ahead of your own, meaning you give the best advice even if it talks you out of a sale.
Posted by Bob Bly
Excellent article. So many people forget that building relationships and earning trust is the key to long term success. A genuine desire to be a resource and to honestly want to help is the way to go — always.
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Consultants Network | North America
Discussion: Ways to Avoid Coming Across Like a Salesperson
My favorite is this: Recommend other companies they appear to need the services of.
Posted by Kirk Conole
You make some good points but unfortunately the article is tainted with the fact that the basis is that you don't want to come across like a salesperson. This plays up the sleazy salesperson stereotype which is demeaning and offensive.
Good salespeople are masters of building relationships, putting themselves in their prospects shoes, educating their clients, and knowing the right time to bring up money.
Since starting my own business I've come to understand and respect sales people and what they do for a living.
This article seems to continue to presume that all salespeople act like the salesmen in the old movies "Used Cars" and "The Tin Men" from the late 1970's.
"Most" Professional modern sales people and their trainers indeed do make a point of following your program for communicative success. But there is one extra piece of information that is a part of good business growth, and that is to have a verbal or written strategic method for the potential customer to commit to (I have to say it, even though by the "suave" standard it is a No No) "BUY" whatever it is you are marketing/selling/promoting/providing a solution for a need/providing a "Benefit" for the customer/Client Ect.
If most businesses that required a form of direct sales, waited for people just to wake up in their daily din of activities, and suddenly say to themselves: "I think I will just go and buy that widget that 'customer relations' person told me about 2 months past", the businesses would go out of business. The sales person usually has been trained in a variety of subtile and not so subtile methods for the customer to agree to spend money NOW, not next month on the service or product, while still not coming across as a thug..
LinkedIn Groups
Group: Inbound Marketers – For Marketing Professionals
Discussion: Ways to Avoid Coming Across Like a Salesperson
This is my style. Thanks for the input. I dislike the wham bam thank you ma'am approach to sales and simply will not sell this way. Your philosophy, coupled with great customer service are sure to gain trust and great working relationships with customers. Trust.
Posted by Emily Culligan Chadwick
LinkedIn Groups
Group: Writers World
Discussion: Ways to Avoid Coming Across Like a Salesperson
Carolyn, Thanks for sharing this. With so much emphasis on marketing, writers need to know what to avoid if they want to be effective.
Posted by Emme H. Johnson
LinkedIn Groups
Group: Woman 2 Woman Business
Discussion: Ways to Avoid Coming Across Like a Salesperson
I find the best way to avoid coming across like a salesperson is to just talk to people. Show interest in them, listen to what they have to say, then match your product/service to their needs. In copy this means knowing who your target audience is and what motivates them.
Posted by Alexa
There are diferent levels of selling with different names:
A speech to 2500 potential customers and the only selling is who you are and what company you work for-Public relations.
A post on a Small Business Group page to assit someone with a questionm, problem,, etc.etc. – Publice realtions & Cold Calling ;
And I could go on but you are selling when you devulge your name and company no matter what justification you are giving it. After many years of selling and management I know that its best to take a realistic and honest approach to whatever your goal may be.
Via LinkedIn Groups
Group: Guerrilla Marketing Tips for Small Businesses
Discussion: Ways to Avoid Coming Across Like a Salesperson
The difference is a "salesperson" only cares about making sales, and earning money. If you make sure that your basis is helping people to solve _their_ problems, you are not "selling." Yes, you earn money in the process, but it is not the only purpose for what you do.
Posted by Walter