We have a tendency to demonize selling. The idea of it conjures up less-than-pleasant experiences we have all had with some third-rate sales associate trying to push something on us that we don’t want. Like a timeshare (shudder).
But every brand has to generate buyers in order to survive. The thing is it doesn’t have to be a necessary evil. If done genuinely and empathetically, it can shift from feeling like some high-pressure boiler room to actually feeling like you’re receiving invaluable help.
In fact, offering invaluable help is arguably the most potent way for your brand to sell. Here’s why:
- It puts your prospects at ease
- It actually offers value instead of some hyped-up pitch
- It increases the potential of your prospects sharing the help you gave with everyone they know generating powerful word-of-mouth exposure
- The goodwill it creates gives you a good chance of those prospects becoming advocates and even evangelists for your brand
- It will stick with your prospects long after they forget your sales pitch
GET A FREE CHAPTER OF THE BOOK — BIG AUDACIOUS MEANING
How to serve by offering invaluable help
What does your brand have that your prospect would find invaluable? Is it knowledge? Maybe a tool? I’ve found that there are rich resources within every organization. Those resources just need to be leveraged. Do you have a subject matter expert in your organization? Interview her. Then use that interview to create something useful. Create a guide. Record the interview and offer a series of short tip videos. There are all kinds of possibilities.
Here are some of the inspired ways that other brands are winning hearts by sharing.
Tutorials
PremiumBeat is a company that sells music tracks for video creators. They could simply offer information on using music in your video edits. But the company goes further to offer a myriad of tutorials covering a multitude of aspects of video editing. The tutorials are incredibly useful. And even fun (if you like to edit video). By generously sharing, the brand becomes recognized as a valuable…
