Soft Selling
In a world saturated with aggressive (and slimy) sales tactics, it's time to explore the power of soft selling and community building within your small business. In ‘Build Your Digital Community’ Episode 8 with Steve Fleiszer, a marketing expert, business coach, and co-founder of Space Creatorz, we explore the importance of soft sales and how to maximize relationships and connections. Steve is a master relationship and community builder and his tips of building your digital community are key to growing your business online.
The Power of Soft Selling
New business owners may think they need to show up all the time to
tell people what they are doing and selling. While it’s important for people to know what you're up to and what you’re offering, you want to try to take a more gentle, less forceful approach. Instead, prioritize establishing genuine relationships and see where they might lead.
There are certainly times in marketing, funnel creation, and messaging where you want to be creating authentic scarcity. However, when it comes to sales, no one wants to receive cold calls or emails. Going out, growing your community, and being authentic are the best ways to go about doing this. If you are selling something that has value, it will often come up naturally in your discussions with people.
With soft selling, you likely won’t see an immediate result. These sales tend to trickle in over time as your relationships with people strengthen and they see the value that you can provide them with. With that in mind, you never know who your connections could lead you too. They may not need your service, but they could know someone else who does. Stay consistent and top of mind.
The Truth About Cold DMs
We cannot stress this enough: do not send cold DMs, emails, generic videos, or the like. This comes across as ingenuine and tactless. So many of us are on platforms like LinkedIn, for example, to grow our communities authentically. All it takes is a genuine outreach, like a request for a coffee connect, to spark a lasting relationship.
When you trust somebody and you have a good relationship, not only does it make the work more fun, but the result of the work turns out better, too.
How To Sell Without Being Slimy
Most people who are in direct sales are on some type of system where their actions, such as emails sent, meetings booked, or proposals developed, are being tracked. People have achieved some success by being crafty within this method. However, Steve encourages people to take a softer approach. Putting yourself out there as a human and getting to know people feels far more natural.
Taking this step comes down to your mindset. It’s about trying to be genuine with people by not making quick assumptions or judgements of them. It is about taking the time to really listen to them and understand their needs. If you are in the previous position, don’t beat yourself up. See this as a great learning opportunity to try a new method and build community.
Competition or Community?
Even people that are doing the same things as you, who could be seen as competition, can be key individuals within your community. In business, there is so much room for collaboration. Having this competitive attitude is really a scarcity mindset that stems from fear. The reality is that there are tons of business opportunities to go around. Fighting over scraps and burning bridges just isn’t worth it.
Fruitful partnerships that are mutually beneficial can exist between traditional competitors. Regardless of if you are in the same industry, other people will have unique skills and will provide different value to clients. Instead of viewing these people or companies as your competitors, view them as your collaborators.
Where and How To Be Authentic
If you're still wanting to approach marketing from a selling capacity, you want to party where your audience is partying. This means paying attention and thinking about where the people who would be buying from you are spending their time. They are likely on one of their main platforms, like Instagram, LinkedIn or TikTok. Choose one that you enjoy and where you can best show up / provide value. The more you show yourself and the behind the scenes of the business, the more people will know, like, and trust you.
In addition to this, instead of focusing on a one liner or intros, think about asking people about themselves in an authentic way. This will open up conversations and start dialogue. People love to be asked questions about themselves. The conversation will eventually circle back to you, but you will get a lot further by taking interest in your counterpart.
By prioritizing genuine connections and delivering value, we as business owners can transcend the traditional sales approach, creating a loyal and engaged community. Using soft selling allows us to build trust, foster meaningful relationships, and make a lasting impact on our customers' lives. By nurturing these communities, we not only drive growth within our businesses but also create a positive ripple effect that extends far beyond our bottom line.