STOP SELLING

There are too many organizations that are focused solely on selling in order to generate revenue. I hear stories all the time of salespeople who make cold calls and try to get someone to buy their products or services during the first exchange. Please stop. This type of approach is archaic, and it insults the person you are chatting with. Spam is spam, regardless of the method by which it is delivered—via the Internet, phone, regular mail, or even in person. So stop selling. Strike that word from your vocabulary, because in business, it can be a dirty word.

The products and services you offer are a means to recognize revenue, but they are not what you should pitch. Instead, you should be introducing yourself and what you stand for—or, in the case of a company, its brand and what it stands for. Fundamentally, there is way too much competition in any given industry for you to focus purely on the items you offer. If you’re really honest, most of the items and services your company offers are comparable to, if not exactly the same as, what your competitors are selling.