There is a saying in business that you should always be selling. I believe the converse to be true. You should always be telling not selling.

People are well-rounded multi-faceted creatures who want so much more from the experience than to be treated like a walking wallet. Essentially when it comes down to it, we all want people to buy what we are selling.? It is our job to find out how to actually sell without selling.

Telling consists of coming from a place of knowledge when acting as an expert in your field. Selling is when your main intent is to get the other person to give you something. Telling=GIVING, Selling=GETTING. People want to be told what to do by those who know more about it than they do. On an intrinsic level, we all know that we know enough to know that we don’t know enough, you know? People can feel it through the core of their being when they are being shilled a service/product or fed the company line.

When you come from a place of true caring and concern others get that instantly. They are drawn in by your genuineness and willingness to share so passionately what you care about. When that happens you will find that not only are they willing to buy whatever you have to sell, you have already created a believer and converted an evangelist.

Keep this in mind the next time you immediately jump to peddling your wares to the next person you interact with. And yes, your wares can be yourself. Self-promotion is the most insidious type of selling. If you have to tell me how cool you are, odds are you aren’t that cool. So, are you telling or are you selling?