MaineBusiness.com

“Selling is the second oldest profession, often confused with the first”. from Let's Get Real or Let's Not Play by Mahan Khalsa. I love that quote, didn't care too much for the book, but love the quote. Too often people that have a service business (i.e. hair, nails, massage, photography, personal training, etc.) feel like they're prostituting themselves if have to actually sell themselves to a potential client.
It brings to mind old time used car salesmen and their sleazy, do anything for a sale tactics. I mean, asking for money, how seedy is that? I went through a sales training program back in the early eighties that absolutely went against every principle I believed in. It was hard core sales at it's worst. It took me 10 years to overcome that and realize that sales could actually be a wonderful skill and/or profession.
Selling is helping others. Really. It's as simple as that. Helping others get or achieve what they want or need. You have to listen to the potential client and ask probing, open-ended questions to find out as much as you can about their situation. From there you, as the expert in your field, make an honest recommendation to them about what their best course of action should be. Once the recommendation is made, ask for a commitment from them. “How does that sound to you?” or “Does that sound like something you’d like to do (or are interested in)?”
Now, if you can't actually help them, tell them that. You should actually refer them to somebody else that can help them, if you can't. They would appreciate your honesty and may come back to you or refer others to you when it's the right fit.
Helping others through our service, remember, we're the good guys.