We won’t bury the lead. The change you need to make is to become a curator rather than a closer.
Now that we have that on the table, we need to unpack it because, let’s face it, on the surface, that looks like horrible advice.
If you’re not a closer, you’re not making any money, right?
That’s where most people go wrong, so it’s where we’re starting this discussion.
What are the ABCs of sales?
Always
Be
Closing
It sounds great in movies like “Glengarry Glen Ross” when Alec Baldwin gives his motivational speech about sales to a group of poorly performing real estate agents, and it’s also why most people, especially coaches and gym owners, hate sales.
It feels sleazy to have such a single-minded approach to doing business.
It feels wrong to see prospective clients as people walking around with your money in their pockets.
The alternative is Ethical Sales, which we’ve spoken about and will continue to speak about ad nauseam because it’s the pathway to making sales easy because it makes your prospects' best interests the top priority.
So let’s change the ABCs of sales to
Always
Be
Curating
We changed it; now let’s talk about what it means.
When we curate an experience for someone, we remove noise and distraction to provide clarity and help them make the right decision.
“Right decision” in this scenario has nothing to do with buying from you. It means they make the right decision for them, and you’re the guide that helps them make that decision regardless of the financial incentives for yourself.
What does that look like in real life?
Let’s imagine you have someone come in who want’s to get out of pain and off their diabetes medication. They’ve had knee pain for 5+ years, and the doctor told them they needed to change their lifestyle. The urging from the physician never phased him until his daughter, an avid trail runner, got engaged and sat him down to have a heart-to-heart.
She spoke to him about wanting him to be able to dance with her on her wedding night for more than one song and being around for when the children she eventually would have, are growing up. She talked about how she values the memories they made as a family and how she wants her kids to have the same kinds of core memories with their grandfather.
In his words, “It hit him like a ton of bricks, and he’s determined to turn his health around.”
Would you sign this person up to work with you?
If so, why?
Are you the best possible fit for them?
Do you have experience helping people get out of pain who have co-morbidities like diabetes?
When you take on the role of the curator, you see this person through a different lens.
Instead of justifying selling them your services, you ask yourself, “What do they need more than anything right now, and where are they most likely to get it?”
In some cases, you are the person/business best positioned to help them.
In other cases, there are better options; that’s why it’s vitally important to know who you’re a great fit to serve and who you should refer to other professionals.
To be a great curator, you need three things:
Know exactly who you serve (the problem set of your ideal client)
Know who you should refer to other professionals (explicitly defined disqualifiers for everyone you’re likely to encounter as a prospective client who isn’t a fit)
A network of trustworthy professionals (these are the people who you refer to when a prospective client isn’t a fit to work with you)
If you want sales to be easy, start with those three things; once they’re in place, you’ll never feel sleazy selling again because you know that every person who walks through your door will walk out with exactly what they need.
