Week 60 - I love sales 🤑

Hey my friend, today let’s talk about how sales are about building relationships, and how it feels to hear “no” every two seconds 😲😲

Try This Yourself

I’ve been doing sales for over 12 years, and all this time, I told people I didn’t like sales. I’ve been saying that I like it when people buy from me, but I don’t like selling them something 🤷‍♂️

And only now I understand how wrong I was…

I was always talking about the value I create, a community I build, a podcast I run, a product I propose, and you already see there are five “I”s in this sentence 😅

When in reality it’s all about the value people might get (and if they even need it), the time they invest into a community and podcast, and the pain they heal with a product.

Nowadays, when we hear the word “sales,” it feels like a person running around you and pushing you to buy something you don’t need.

Well, fair enough, consumerism made these types of salespeople in bulk 🤷‍♂️

But a genuine sale is about relationships. It’s about talking to people, listening, understanding their needs and challenges, and solving them with a product you sell. And even stepping aside or advising your competitor if you understand that your product is not helping in a specific situation.

It’s all about building trust.

Here is an example: when I’m negotiating a partnership for the Community ROI podcast and newsletter, I’m not starting with what I can bring them. I start with “What are you trying to achieve? What is your end goal and expectation out of our collaboration?”

Of course, I share numbers of subscribers, reach, views, etc., but I’m trying to understand their business goal and also the specific goal of a person responsible for a collaboration.

They have their own goals and KPIs to reach, and if I help them do it, they’ll be happy to continue working with me and refer to others.

That’s exactly why I’m asking not just about a surface goal, but who they are aiming to get, what their ICP looks like, what they want those people to do afterwards, etc.

This way I can understand how to send a message that serves that specific audience and increases the probability of them converting into partners’s client.

Of course, only if this product serves their needs 😏

So remember, it’s all about answering their “What’s in it for me?” question, and if you can help people find that answer, you’ll build stronger relationships and improve your professional standing.

And yes, since I love sales, from now on you’ll see more sales and persuasion techniques that will not only help you establish strong human connections, but also make some great deals 😉

tl;dr Sales are all about building trust. When people trust, buy from you, and that thing improves their life, they trust you even more, and that is exactly what helps you build stronger professional and personal relationships.

Expand Your Mindset

I talk to dozens of people daily, and most of them I connect with using cold messaging. Which means that this person has no idea who the hell I am, what I stand for, and more importantly, why they should trust me.

Many people ghost me, fewer answer “no” to my messages, and some even tell me to stop spamming them 🤷‍♂️

And sometimes it feels personal. Sometimes I’m questioning if I’m doing the right thing.

Yes, sometimes I just need to improve messaging and make it easier for people to understand what I’m talking about.

But mostly it’s the other thing—the way they project their previous experience (or even current mood) on me.

There is a great book, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (go read it right away!), and one of the agreements is:

Don't Take Anything Personally: What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, not yours. Ignoring this prevents unnecessary suffering.

And the best example of the implementation of this agreement I saw was in Rome:

When you’re near a Colosseum or any famous tourist place, there are 98% of tourists, 1% of staff, and the final 1% are folks who sell water, power banks, sun umbrellas, raincoats, and other stuff most people don’t need.

So they hear a “no” every two seconds, and I bet it’s hard to hear “no” 1800 times an hour in any language of the world 😲😅

However, when it suddenly started raining, and I had a choice to go to the hotel or get a raincoat from one of them, guess what I chose 😏

So it’s not personal, it’s just a number game after all!

tl;dr Don’t take things personally. You see this world differently than each person on this planet, and if you have different opinions on something, well, it’s okay, just move on. Don’t let a “no” ever stop you!

So yeah, that’s it for this week, and if you have any questions, thoughts, ideas, or personal examples of how to build better human connections, please answer this email, or connect with me on LinkedIn, and let’s talk 🤗🤓

💡 What influenced me this week 💡

Thoughts of the week:

• “The beginning is always today.” - Mary Wollstonecraft, The Economist’s daily quotes

• “Real stupidity beats artificial intelligence every time.” - Terry Pratchett, The Economist’s daily quotes

• “Every single person in your inner circle is a sculptor of your future, whether or not they know it. Someone is either helping create your ideal self or pushing you further away from it. There is no in between.” - Sahil Bloom’s newsletter

Song of the week:

Book and quotes of the week:

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle

“Learn from nature: See how everything gets accomplished and how the miracle of life unfolds without dissatisfaction or unhappiness.”

“Focus not on the one hundred things that you will or may have to do at some future time but on the one thing that you can do now.”

“You attract and manifest whatever corresponds to your inner state.”

Tools that I use with referrals:

• Descript - for anything around podcasting and video editing

• Beehiiv - for a newsletter (that’s what you receive 😅)

• Text Blaze - to access message templates with shortcuts (like “/ty”)

• Exali - promo “FROMYURII” - indemnity insurance for independent experts in Europe

• Manus - for building complex systems and projects

Daily actions:

• tell 1 person what I’m thankful to them for

• read a self-development book/listen to a professional podcast for 15 minutes

• make a valuable post/comment on LinkedIn

• tag 15 people in my connections database

• connect with 30 interesting people on LinkedIn

• invite 5 people to join the 👋Friendworking newsletter

Weekly actions:

• transcribe one new episode of the Creator Spotlight and Personal IPO (bi-weekly) podcasts, learn something from them, and connect with guests on LinkedIn

• connect 2 people who I believe need to be connected

• invite 30 people to follow the Community ROI podcast (and ask for some feedback).

If you have any thoughts, ideas, or questions, please 👇

And if you’d like to have more 👋 Friendworking in your life 👇

See you next week! 👋