Selling Without Sounding Like You're Selling

Good sales isn't about convincing everyone. It's about understanding who you're talking to, figuring out what they care about, and guiding the people who are already leaning toward a yes.

Tone matters. Don't sound like you're selling. Adapt to the person in front of you. The red, yellow, green, and blue personality types from Surrounded by Idiots are a useful framework: red is direct and results-focused, yellow is social and enthusiastic, green is calm and relationship-oriented, and blue is analytical and detail-focused. The better you recognize who you're talking to, the better you can communicate with them.

Add value to the conversation. When you find something the client cares about, go deeper. If you're not sure what matters to them, keep a relevant story in your back pocket that shows how you've helped someone in a similar situation.

Our job isn't to manufacture a yes. It's to help someone who is interested but uncertain make a decision.

I've noticed that working out and doing cold exposure has helped me with that. Cold exposure forces me to control my breathing when my body wants to react, and I find that carries over to calls. When a client gets excited, I don't want to get caught up in the excitement and start talking too fast. I want to stay calm, listen, and focus on what's important: guiding the client through the process.