I was talking with an amazing group of entrepreneurs earlier. During our session, I mentioned that I hadn’t sold my services to anyone in well over 20 years. I went on to explain that thousands of people have hired me or bought from me. But I hadn’t sold anything to anyone.

That’s not just word play.

It’s a way of operating!

And if you want to attract more customers, no selling required, you need to know about it.

Buying and selling

It starts with something that my first ever boss told me. It’s simply this.

“Everyone loves to buy things, but no one likes being sold to”.

And she was right.

Most small and medium-sized business owners do not ‘get’ this. Their marketing is little more than a series of needy pitches. They turn up when they want you to buy something. And it’s rightly ignored by the vast majority of prospective customers, because no one likes being sold to.

The smartest business owners focus on engagement. They look for opportunities to give. They seek out ways to be useful to their customers, prospective customers and the wider marketplace. They build relationships and earn trust. In doing so, they attract attention and create meaningful connections.

In short, those very different approaches look something like this.

• Most marketing is about bringing your need to the marketplace. Sales pitches, special offers and closing sales.
• Smart marketing is about bringing your seed to the marketplace. Growing engagement by contributing your knowledge, solving problems, sharing your passion, being helpful and opening relationships.

Smart marketing is more effective, develops greater trust and builds better relationships. And it works in every industry. Because regardless of what line of business you’re in and what marketplace you serve, people love to buy things.

Bring your seed, my friend. Before you know it, your business will blossom in a wonderfully predictable way. No selling required.