Why Is It That so Many Who Sell Are so Ineffective at Selling?

Are you looking for a definitive answer to sales ineffectiveness? The kind that identifies the ‘top 10 reasons’ and then recommends great-sounding actions. If you are then you have come to the wrong place. I don’t position myself as a sales guru. And experience has taught me to distrust the one definitive answer. Sales advice form sales gurus, for the most part, strikes me as being similar to religion: pure ideology with bits of truth thrown in the mix.

I don’t have a definitive answer for you. What I wish to do, in this conversation, is to explore the question through my own lived experience: being on the receiving end of sales pitches as the author of this blog. Let’s start with advertising.

Sales Pitches From ‘Advertisers’

From time to time someone will contact me to sell me on the idea of accepting advertising (of one kind or another) and making some money. Nobody has as yet succeeded in persuading me to put ads on this blog. Why not?

When I started sharing that which I share here I made a commitment to myself. What commitment? To share my authentic voice uncorrupted by the profit motive. As such, I ruled out accepting standard adverts or paid-for placement masquerading as my thinking, my voice on some matter or other.

The folks who pitch me to ‘accept advertising and make money’ do not get that I relate to myself, on this blog, as giver not a taker, as thinker not a publisher. And for me, money is not the be all and end all of a worthy life.

Sales Pitches from Search Engine Optimisation Folks

I regularly get sales pitches from SEO folks. Some of them have even taken on the best practice advice of sales gurus. They have done an analysis of this blog. As such they have identified the weaknesses and the impact of these weaknesses. Furthermore, they come up with sensible recommendations for improving the visibility and traffic to this site.

As yet I have not purchased. Why not? The fundamental fact is that this blog is a platform for me to share my authentic voice and contribute to those who find that which I share a source of contribution. As such, I prefer for a niche set of people to find me rather than take on some form of mass marketing. Put differently and equally true, this blog is a form of self-expression rather than a money-making venture. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love for this blog to be at the top of Google rankings. But only on merit, not on search engine wizardry. Yes, I am old fashioned. I might even lack ambition to make it to the top.

Sales Pitches From ‘Writers’

From time to time, and sometimes regularly, people offer to write / supply content for me. Most offer to do it for free. Why is it that I decline the offers of free content?

Firstly, why would I deprive myself of the satisfaction of self-expression and contribution? That which I share here with you is a valuable form of self-expression for me. I enjoy grappling with, thinking through, and finally sharing that which I share. This process leaves me feeling creative. And to some extent of service, of contribution, to my fellow human beings – at least some of them.

Secondly, I insist that those who offer to write contribute something original, something authentic, something that provokes thought, something worth reading. This is far too demanding for those who offer to write for this me/this blog. Mostly their pieces are marketing peddled as an original ‘thought piece’. Or I find no thought in the so-called ‘thought piece’. I am delighted to say that one person accepted the challenge and ended up publishing his post here on this blog.

Sales Pitches From Conference Organisers and/or PR Folks

From time to time conference / seminar organisers pitch me the idea of turning up at their event and speaking. They do not offer payment for my time or service. They assure me that my presence will be good for my reputation – building my brand. For the most part, I decline these offers. Why? My time is valuable: it is the source of my income, source of relating and relationships, source of thinking through and sharing that which I share….. Furthermore, I have always felt rather uncomfortable at being positioned as a guru. And I have no desire to be branded. I value my freedom of thought and self-expression unconstrained by existing filters / expectations.

PR folks reach out to me and invite me to attend a particular company event and write about it. What is the trade being made here? It occurs to me that it goes something like this: you are privileged to be invited, we will cover your expenses, and you will have a great time. All in return for writing a favourable post on your blog. I have never accepted such an invitation. Why? It occurs to me that this is peculiar form of advertising: I advertise a particular company and pay (time, lost earnings) for the privilege of doing so.

Who Has Succeeded In Selling To Me?

Has anyone succeeded in selling to me as the author of this blog? Yes, a few people have. For the purposes of this conversation, I wish to highlight Bob Thompson. Recently, Bob Thompson sold me on writing original content for his venture: CustomerThink. How did he do it?

Did he offer to pay me? No. Did he offer to build my brand? No. Did he offer to fly me to one or more exotic places? No. He offered me nothing along these lines. So how is it that I took up his invitation to write original content for the idea he has in mind?

Bob shared his idea and invited me to step into it with him and a few others. Why did I accept?

One, Bob told me that he finds that which I share thought provoking. In particular, he likes the leadership / human side of things that I bring up and talk about. He presented me with an avenue to express the stand that I am: a stand for humanity (the best of our humanity) in business and the workplace.

Two, Bob reached out and validated me when I was most open to that validation. When did this occur? When at the suggestion of friends-colleagues-family members I started this blog some four years ago. At that time it did not occur to me that I could write. Nor that I had anything valuable to share. After three months or so of my sharing my take on things, Bob noticed my voice which was mostly unheard. He told me that he liked that which I shared. And invited me to contribute to CustomerThink. I continue to be grateful to Bob.

Three, Bob and I have met in person when he was stopping over in London. People do ask to meet me and mostly they do so because they want something from me e.g. to publicise their company. Bob’s invitation showed up for me as an invitation to meet me. Which is to say, it struck me that Bob wanted to learn about me. To spend some time with me. And I gladly took up the offer.

What conclusion do I draw from this? It occurs to me that Bob Thompson has been effective and efficient in selling to me because he gets me: what my world is, what I am about in this world, what matters to me, what possibilities leave me moved-touched-inspired. And he has connected with me as I wish to be connected with: one human being to another sitting at a cafe talking about that which is worth talking about and sharing that which makes each of us genuinely human. Put differently and using the words of Martin Heidegger, I say that Bob Thompson has good enough understanding of the ‘world hood of my world’. And this enables him to be effective in pitching what is most likely to speak to me.

I leave you to draw your conclusions. And I thank your for your listening – it is that which continues to bring forth my speaking through this blog.