Why is it some people struggle to sell their products or services no matter how hard they try, while others seem able to sell just about anything to anyone?
It’s almost as if people who experience phenomenal sales success know something others don’t, like they have insider info that gives them an unfair advantage. It’s like they have access to sales secrets no one else knows.
Everything Is Selling
Think about it. Nothing ever gets done anywhere until someone sells somebody something. Whatever you ate for breakfast started the journey to your table when someone sold something. You likely won’t make any money this week unless someone, maybe you, sells something and makes money. Selling is what makes the world work.
Selling Is Serving
The core secret that changed everything for me and fueled my $5 billion dollar sales success over the last 40 years is a secret Zig Ziglar preached. If you apply it to your own life it’s going to shave years off your own success journey, put money in your pocket faster, and let you dump all that frustration and stress so you can finally experience the freedom in life you’ve been wanting to feel for so long. Here it is:
You can have everything in life you want – everything – if you will just help ENOUGH other people get what they want.
Understanding this secret will help you eliminate that feeling of being stuck and give you the clarity and confidence you need to quickly grow. The best part is that it doesn’t matter what you’re selling – product, service or idea – or how big your business is right now.
I see so many people who want to experience breakthrough sales success so they can be, do and have more in life, but they completely miss the power of this secret. Serve others first and you’ll be amazed at the results.
Here are just a few ways you can serve other people when you sell:
- Put them first. It’s a people-first mindset that unlocks sales success. Some people think of “sharks” as ruthless predators, but that’s not how I do business. I know how to innovate, disrupt the marketplace, orchestrate a killer investment deal, and grow a business. But my people-first perspective is at the heart of everything I do. I intentionally seek win-win relationships and solutions.
- Improve their lives. Improve the lives of other people by sharing how your product or service will improve their quality of life. Always be thinking of how your product or service will be serving other people.
- Be authentic. Authenticity is a huge piece of success in sales. You may get short-term sales through deception, but long-term, over-the-top success happens when you don’t fake it. Be real. Be authentic by showing how you are focused on serving people by meeting their needs.
- Create win-win situations. I intentionally only do business deals where we create win-win situations. I know I can only truly succeed when I first deliver value to other people.
Implementing this simple, four-step framework will start to shift the way you think about selling and help you begin to realize how it is absolutely critical to the success of your idea, product, or service.
Three Changes to Your Perspective
Embracing this core secret will transform your perspective on sales in at least three powerful ways.
First, it confirms your desires and your dreams. We all want to be, do and have more don’t we? And that’s OK. In fact, it’s a good thing. You shouldn’t feel guilty about wanting something better for you, your family, and the world.
So many people struggle to think they’re worthy of success. They’ve been beaten down by circumstances, mistakes, or even other people. I’ve been there. I’ve been treated like dirt and double-crossed. I’ve had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection before. Believe me, I know how tough business can be. Things don’t always go the way we think they will.
But that doesn’t mean YOU are defective. You have dreams and desires that can make the world a better place even as they make you a lot of money.
The second powerful way this secret changes everything is this: It puts your focus on other people. Talk about counterintuitive!
Doesn’t everything today tell you to look out for yourself? Take care of number one? Make sure someone else gets voted off the island in the win/lose game of life?
I’m here to tell you right now, it doesn’t work that way and if you can grasp this fact you can really do some serious good both for you and the rest of the world.
The secret lies in delivering value first, solving a problem, lending a hand, or offering a solution that makes life better for others before you ever get a dime or any benefit in return.
The third powerful way this core secret can transform your sales success is this: It blows up your vision of what’s possible.
The more people you help, the more you’ll get what you want. So that brings up a good question: how much is enough? It isn’t about how much you will sell. It’s about how many people will you help before you say enough.
How many people are you helping right now? Think about a number. How many people are you helping right now with your product, service, or idea? Go ahead and get that number in your head.
Is it 100, 1,000, 50,000, a million that you are helping right now? Picture it clearly. Now 100x it! Add two zeros.
How big is that number now? 10,000, 5 million, 100 million?
What would that feel like to help that many people? How much is enough now? Unless, of course, you really don’t want to help more people. But remember, the key to getting all life has to offer is to help ENOUGH other people get what they want.
Once you blow up ENOUGH, there’s no telling what’s possible for your success.
When you embrace this core secret from the master Zig Ziglar and see the power of these three powerful applications, your sales success simply won’t be the same. I encourage people to visit www.zigsecrets.com and hear more about the “Secrets for Sales Success” video series.
Kevin Harrington is an original “shark” on the TV show “Shark Tank.” He built a $5 billion business, co-founded the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (YEO), and literally pioneered the infomercial business. He is a public speaker, consultant and entrepreneur. Learn more at KevinHarrington.tv.
