One of the hardest things marketing and sales professionals have to do is help people understand why “teaching” is not just a philosophical shift in how you sell, it’s actually the most powerful business development strategy.
You must change your paradigm.
You no longer sell; you teach and pursue with value.
You use all the experience and work you have spent developing what makes you great and teach your prospects how to utilize your best asset.
What you can teach them? Why would you teach them? Why would you just give them what you’ve worked so hard to create for nothing?
Three basic reasons:
1. People grow a high affinity and are extremely loyal to the people and organizations that have helped them create a greater identity of themselves.
2. People edify through their personal networks, social media and testimonials those people who help them learn a new concept, discipline, strategy or tactic.
3. People are 5 times more likely to buy from someone who has taught them something. People still love to buy, they don’t love to “get sold.”
The fundamental shift of going from “lead generation” to “teach marketing” is about understanding the concept of letting your “work,” work for you.
It’s not that teaching makes it easier to sell. It’s that teaching creates an environment where people are ready to buy because it is a natural evolution in the relationship. Rather than a change in behavior, it is the next natural behavior.
Creating that environment also creates the momentum for your clients to share your message socially, drives the commitment that generates referrals, testimonials and case studies that make the difference in greater profits, lower acquisition costs and higher employee retention.
Stop Selling and Start Teaching
