I’m no stranger to sales, I’ve been “selling something” my entire life…
…selling newspapers in my early teens…
…selling the high school basketball coach that I was good enough to make the team…
…selling the University of California Santa Barbara that I was smart enough to attend…
…selling insurance after I graduated college…
…selling ads for BAM Magazine in the early ’90s…
…selling, selling, selling.
Like everything else in the universe, selling has been fully digitized.
Amped up with the same built-in dopamine effect found in “social” media.
What’s so “social” about connecting digitally anyway? Just asking 😀
Selling today is all about being anti-social.
The “net effect” of the complete digitization of human communication is vast and far-reaching.
For one, it’s commoditized and devalued the sales process – the sale is “just a click away!”
Second, the “art” of sales has been entirely lost.
Third, you don’t even need to speak to the buyer! (Imagine that?)
The lost art of sales has been gamified.
It’s one, done, and on to the next one.
What If?…
…we slowed down, were patient, and turned the focus on teaching the buyers how to use the stuff we’re selling instead?
The question of “how do I use this?” has been completely automated just like the sales process that came before it.
Nobody wants to talk, teach, or listen anymore.
Nobody has the time, patience, or empathy anymore.
Need verification?
Try and call someone at Google or Facebook today with some questions about how to use their service and see how it goes.
Ironically, today’s most dominant companies are orchestrated for total automation – no humans allowed.
Call most large companies today and be prepared for an endless loop of automated responses – an entire maze of autoresponders that if you’re lucky enough to get through (and very patient) you may finally get an actual human being on the phone to assist you (by connecting you to a new automated loop responder!)
For me, I’ll stick to the old-school art of selling…
…and teach the fine folks out there how to use it because they deserve it.
Follow the Leader
It may be oxymoronic, but what if you follow the leader and end up a loser?
Say what?
I love it when I have your undivided attention.
When everyone emulates the tactics and strategy of the leader of the moment, everyone ends up doing the same thing.
It’s why there is a status quo, and it’s constant.
And why it doesn’t work.
You got to carve your own path in this world and not be afraid of the greatness locked up inside of you.
That’s right, you are great.
Everyone is, but very few choose to let themselves to be.
It’s scary to think in those terms, so they let self-doubt creep in and rule the day, robbing them of reaching their true destiny.
In this context, I believe there are no rules and no limits to one’s ability to achieve.
Look around at all the most popular gurus in any field today – they all have one thing in common…
…they are self-appointed.
They didn’t ask anyone for permission to be great or move forward, they just did it.
And People Noticed.
So, they kept doing it and more people noticed.
And through repetition, consistency, and showing up, they became gurus.
Simple.
The truth is, most people want to be led – it helps create order and structure in their life, but few want to lead.
The demand for leaders is great.
Like most things worth doing, it’s not easy, but anyone can do it.
You can too.
One of the marketing gurus who I pay attention to is Seth Godin, who says it this way:
“How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?”