Do you aggressively sell your services only to find that prospective clients — even those clearly in your target market — aren't buying? Perhaps you're struggling to find new clients because you're afraid to overtly "sell" them.
Stop!
"Just what is selling?" I ask at the beginning of many of my programs. The question elicits a variety of answers which provide a window into the thinking of the professionals and entrepreneurs in attendance.
"Trying to convince someone to buy what you offer," "Saying things that persuade someone to agree to buy your services" and "Manipulating someone into feeling he or she has to have what you offer" are some of the answers I receive.
"If your view of 'selling' your services is something along these lines, it's no wonder you can't fill your pipeline," I say. "If by 'selling' you mean some kind of noisy, pushy, aggressive hawking of your services, you've already sensed that 'selling,' as you have defined it, doesn't work."