Stop Trying to Close and Do This Instead Play the long game, be patient and succeed.
By Ben Judah •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
If you clicked on this article and I immediately tried to sell my app/product/service, the vast majority would close this page, and rightfully leave with a bad taste in their mouths. Yet every day, entrepreneurs around the world try to sell, pitch and promote their business right out the gate, all in the name of "hustle." But, does anyone really like that guy? Would you introduce him to your friend? In general, no. So why do so many entrepreneurs behave this way in business?
Related: 3 Conversation Starters to Convert Prospects Into Customers
Before exploring this in more detail, take two minutes to watch this video by legendary business person Gary Vaynerchuck -- this is what it looks like in real life. If you can identify this action in your behavior towards customers, prospects, journalists or investors, take a step back and ask yourself why this is your tactic for success. Those who believe they don't behave this way and yet still have an auto-DM set up on Twitter, should consider that though the tools are different, behaving differently online from offline still leads companies and individuals to act like the guy in the video. Don't be "that guy."
Israel's top tech and marketing guru Hillel Fuld puts this beautifully in his blog:
"1. Would I respond to this message if I was on the receiving end?
2. Would I behave this way offline?
If the answer to either one of those questions is 'No', then do what you gotta do to make the answer yes."
Related: The Secret of Story Telling
Good sales and marketing practice comes from one single underlying root -- deploying empathy wherever possible. Though this emotion is very difficult to quantify with data points, it is fundamental for people working in sales and marketing to understand and internalize before every interaction. To start off by thinking, "How can I add value to this person?" rather than "How can I sell to this person?" is a shift in mindset, but one that will always pay off. This value may not (and probably isn't) an instant sale of your product, and may even be the recommendation of a competitor -- but the individual will remember the value for decades to come, long after the product or service is rendered obsolete. It is this shift in thinking to macro-marketing and away from target-driven objective marketing that has created some of the biggest companies in the world today.
Related: 4 Reasons Why Your Business Should Invest in Content Marketing
Before starting to work at an Apple Store, employees are trained to make sure that they only sell to a customer that will get what they want from the product. If you were to go in and ask for a phone that absolutely must be red, they won't try to sell you a rose gold iPhone 7, because that isn't what you want. The thought process is as relevant to small businesses as it is for billion-dollar companies. Offer what the customer in front of you wants -- regardless of demographic slicing, platform or situation -- and the long-term benefit will pay out in spades.
This adjustment in mindset may be extreme for some, but when we consider the awesome power consumers now have via the reach of social media, and the swing of attention away from conventional advertising and towards influencers and peer let decision making, the customer is satisfaction sacrosanct before, during and after every interaction. Play the long game, be patient and succeed.
