Let’s take something you love – pick anything. Hold that thought.I will go with chocolate. Now I can blab on about all the reasons I love it. Its so versatile, comes in many colours and sizes. There is a flavour to suit all taste buds. Eating it can be savoured slowly or gobbled in a hurry, and its portable too. Readily available at all your major and minor outlets, you can find it anywhere.… yeah, alright – I will stop now.

See, easy. Cos 1 – I love it and can advise on it – expert! 2 – I know how enjoy it, so I can share with others how great that is. 3 – I can share my experiences of it, so others can learn too. The challenge with the chocolate is not the selling, its keeping it away from my grubby mitts.Now take something you don’t love. Parsnips, for me. Yuk. Now I have to try to sell the fact that they smell funny, and look ugly – like an overgrown, anaemic carrot. They grow in dirt and like the cold – wierd. They leave this slimy muck all over your hands when you peel off that unflattering exterior, and even then you have only two options to aid its disposal. Either you expose it to flames and hope to get something that passes for a roastie, or boil it for days until its barely edible. I am not a fan and I am struggling to find positives that I can pass on in a sales pitch. After that description, you wouldnt buy parsnips from me either. Imagine being left with a huge pile of the ‘orrible things at the end of my day. Not the job for me.

Sales then. It’s easier to sell something you love, something you enjoy or see the benefits of yourself.I’m guessing that you love what you do, or you’d be doing something else. I’d wager you have experience of the wonders that your offering brings, so sharing benefits with others comes naturally. Whatever you’re selling, you gotta love it. Me + chocolate = perfect match!More than that, you have to be enthusiastic about it! Not everyone likes chocolate, not everyone hates parnsips – but there is a market for both. Excitement is contagious. In the same way as a positive review might attract a new customer your way, it can work for you too. Get your prospects fired up about why you believe in what you offer.

And if you can’t get excited about what you’re selling… something is wrong. Either your product needs work, or you need a different one to get excited about.As for which sales approach you use, really its the same point. Right product, right time, to the right person. Don’t attempt to sell parsnips to someone who isn’t interested, sell them to those who are interested in parsnip buying. And make sure you believe in your own product, too.

I think selling chocolate to the greedy moo in Bridgend is a slamdunk. She’s a big fan already, observed by her posting activity! Wonder if she’d go for chocolate covered parsnips, perhaps?