We’re bombarded with commercials, sales pitches, and guilt trips designed to get us to buy. But what are we selling?
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“The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell.” ~ Confucius
All around us are examples of people who figured out how to sell something to somebody. If they figure out how to sell something to enough somebodys they become icons in the entrepreneurial world of chasing the dream — those whiz kids that can sell anything to anybody. But does that make them superior?
In my world of entrepreneurs, and especially the world of coaches, writers, and so-called gurus, we’re constantly told how we “should” market and what we “should” sell. And there are certainly people selling a lot of somethings to a lot of somebodys. But on the assumption that if Confucius were teaching today he’d say “the superior man or woman,” and “the inferior man or woman,” and that therefore this quote includes people of my gender identity, I have to wonder how many of those people understand what is right.
By “right” I don’t just mean ethical (although I do see some programs that don’t meet my criteria for ethical either.) I mean right for the people they’re aimed at.
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By “right” I don’t just mean ethical (although I do see some programs that don’t meet my criteria for ethical either.) I mean right for the people they’re aimed at. I see people trying to sell high powered training on how to create an online business and they’re targeting people who don’t even know how to create a program that would sell online. I see people trying to sell a “make money coaching” program to people who don’t know what coaching entails.
So why does that make a man (or woman) inferior? Or why does it make the man (or woman) who understands what IS right superior? Again, it’s more than a moral or ethical question. (Although it certainly is that.) It is also a strategic question. Because when you think first about how much value your proposition has to the person you’re trying to sell it to you’re likely to be more successful in selling it again and again and again. You’re likely to have more raving fans, more glowing testimonials, more qualified referrals, more of everything that makes a business or career a success.
No matter what you sell, even if you’re selling your talents and gifts to your next employer, think about how much more successful you will be if you understand what is right for them before you try to convince them that they should buy it.
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Photo: Flickr/rick