SALES IS NOT A DIRTY WORD

I’ve been working in legal, professional services and other service-based marketing for a long time.

Nowhere is there a stigma against the term “selling” as strong as there is in legal and professional services.  It somehow feels dirty, slimy, something others do, but not me.

When I started my job as Director of Marketing for a law firm in 1997, it was made clear to me that sales and selling were not words we used in legal marketing.  I found that surprising because I started my career in sales after college, and found nothing wrong with it. Perhaps it was because my father used to sell, and he was very good at it.  He was nothing even close to a stereotypical salesperson, whatever that was at the time.  He was simply his client’s advisor, their mentor, their solution to a problem, and sometimes even their friend.

I had a good experience as well when I started my sales job.  I was sent away for two weeks to the home office in Dayton for intense sales training.  When you immerse yourself in that kind of a learning environment for that long, it is amazing what you discover about yourself…the good, the bad and the things you definitely need to change in your approach.

I can still remember the day we were recorded using just audio. Video came later.  Oh my, did I ever talk fast! We had all become friends at that point, so it was easy to chuckle at ourselves and one another.  The best part about that is that I then knew what I needed to do to get better.  Had I not had intense sales training, I might have actually stood in front of my potential clients with my 20-something exuberance and passion, and set the world record for fast-talking because I was so excited.  I still have that same passion, but I don’t talk as fast.

My message to you is that Sales is not a dirty word.  If you think the term is beneath you, call it what you want. Many of us in the legal and professional services marketing world call it Business Development because that conjures up the notion of a more civilized, intellectual approach to helping our clients.  I’ve come to a point in my career that I’m okay with using that term.  It doesn’t really matter what we call it.

The most important thing is that we become comfortable doing it.  We need to discover whether this is a strength, a weakness or somewhere in between.  If it is anywhere south of a strength, and we are expected to contribute to the bottom line of our firms, whether now or at any point in our future, then we need to learn how to do it better.

The 1st step is to understand that Sales and Selling are not dirty words.  It should help if you think about them this way:

Selling is a natural extension of a conversation you have with a potential client. If you learn to ask questions and sincerely listen to the answers, then follow up with solutions or ideas that fit what you’ve just heard, then you never have to worry about “closing” a deal.

If you adopt this perspective, or attitude, then you will actually realize this Sales, or Business Development, process is something to be admired and respected.  How could it not be when it involves a conversation with someone that results in your ability to truly help them?

As always, I’d love to have you share your thoughts.  How comfortable are you with Sales, or Business Development?  Is there anything about the process that you find challenging?

Tagged as: Business, Business Development Training, Law, Legal, Legal Marketing, Legal Marketing Consulting, Marketing, Sales