Stop selling. Start inviting!
Photo by Aaron Burden When we stop thinking of sales as a transaction and start thinking of it as an invitation, everything improves. The pressure evaporates. The awkwardness fades. The conversation becomes more human, more helpful. And most importantly, it becomes more successful, too. This isn’t just about semantics. Unlike me, most small business owners didn’t start their business because they wanted to be a salesperson or a marketing person. You probably started your business because you have something useful, meaningful and valuable to offer. At some point early in the life of your business, you will have been told that you’ll need to learn how to sell your services or products. And it never quite sat right, did it? In many cases, the whole selling thing feels, at best, awkward. There’s a reason: most sales advice is rooted in old thinking. It’s transactional. Borderline manipulative. At worst, you’re told to hustle, hustle, hustle....