5 Ways To Be Mutually Beneficial

For anyone running their own business or trying to make a living off of something they love, we all still need people to pay for our products or services. You need to be an advocate of SALES! The problem is, the term “salesman” has garnered a lot of negative connotation over the years. High-pressure sales jobs and organizations have forced people to push the envelope of ethics and sell people things that they have no need for. “Sales” gets a bad reputation for being shady, manipulative, and downright evil.

We need to redefine what it means to sell to somebody. In an ideal world, a sale happens when someone who has a problem and someone who has a solution meet each other and negotiate a mutually beneficial agreement.

Buyer: “I have this problem and this is what it is worth to me.”

Seller: “I have this solution and I think it is worth this much to you.”

Over the years, the sales process has become more complex and mystifying, but that doesn’t mean it has to be that way for all of us.

Make it your goal to find people that can benefit from your product or service and offer them a fair solution. If you have something of value, and do a good job of displaying that value to the people in need, your product or service will sell. Here are a few things you need to make sure you do to make these mutually beneficial transactions go over smoothly:

If you’re pursuing your passion, this will be inevitable. If you love what you are selling and believe in the cause, your energy and enthusiasm will show that. If you aren’t sold on the product or service, how do you expect potential customers to be sold on the product or service?

Listen before you sell. This is the most important part of being mutually beneficial, so let me repeat it:

Your customers will tell you what’s important to them, what their problem is, and how they hope to solve it. By listening, you will know for sure if you can solve someone’s problem, or if your solution may not be his or her best option. Why would you sell something to someone that doesn’t need it? That’s not mutually beneficial, but that’s what you’re doing when you start selling before you listen. Not only will listening qualify your potential customers for you, but it will also tell you how to sell them! They will tell you what they like and dislike. They will tell you what their problems are and why other solutions have not worked. After you listen, you can base your answers on where they have already had issues in the past. You can describe how this solution will work where others have failed. You can leave out explaining benefits that they have told you are not important to them.

Just a second ago, I said that listening was the most important part of being mutually beneficial. Realistically, listening is the most important part to making the sale because shady salesmen will con people out of their money by using their listening powers for evil and those situations are certainly not mutually beneficial. That being said, Honesty and Fairness really is the most important part of being mutually beneficial. If you are honest about your product or service and all of the details included, anyone you sell to will know exactly what they are getting. When you tell them all about the Pros and also make sure they understand the Cons, they know exactly what they are paying for.

There’s nothing worse than making a purchase, but then later finding out a few details that were not on the packaging (Oh wait…They were on the packaging…)

Says the customer service 800 number.

Be honest about your product and be fair about your terms. If you go in business hoping to rip people off, you may con a few people up front and make a few bucks, but in the long run you’re going to make a lot of people angry and alienate your business. Be fair about pricing. You have to be able to make a profit to grow your business, but be reasonable. What work did you do to secure the product or service? How much is that worth to the customer? Price yourself accordingly.

People don’t want to know what your service does or what “stuff” your product has. People want to know how your product or service is going to change their life. People have a problem and you have a product, but people don’t care that you have a product. That’s why you have to connect the dots for your customers and show them the SOLUTION. If you can paint a picture in your customer’s mind about how their life will change with your product, then they will see the true value.

Buyer: “I’m not getting a good nights sleep, so I need a new mattress.” (Problem)

Paint a picture for how your product or service will change your customers life because that’s where the true value of your product or service is!

You have to ask for the sale! You can spend your life savings on marketing, advertising, and promotions, but all of these initiatives will be pointless if you do not ask people to buy your product or service. People who need your product want someone else to recognize they need it too. Otherwise, they feel unsure about their need. If you know your solution will solve their problem, explain why and then ask for their business. If they say no, ask them why not. Maybe there’s a reason that you’re unaware of. If you never ask, though, you’ll never know.

If they say yes, then STOP selling. You’ve sold them. They see the value in your product and you have agreed on a mutually beneficial transaction. If you keep pushing benefits and information down their throats after this point, they may get annoyed and you may lose the sale. When they say yes, stop talking and collect their payment!

Do these 5 things and you’re setting yourself up for success. If you are doing these 5 things and still aren’t selling, you’re probably just trying to reach the wrong people! Do the people you’re talking to have a need for your product or service? How do you know? If you’re doing all these things and still not selling, maybe it’s time to reevaluate who you are targeting! You have to sell to live your dreams, but remember: