Soft sell sales calls focus on really understanding the prospect's situation.

Still, something bothered me about the presentation. At first I assumed it was just that I was uncomfortable with putting people on the spot about committing to their own business growth or choosing to miss out, or maybe it was that we can increase our prices thousands of dollars by not focusing on the value of our material but on the cost of not buying, such as on all the money you’ll leave on the table for passing on the chance to learn what we can teach you. Why did that bother me? Isn’t closing the whole purpose of sales?

I finally realized that it was one of the slickest manipulations I’ve heard: it didn’t feel like a high pressure, sleazy sales presentation. I had just recalled Judith & Jim‘s descriptions in The Heart of Marketing about the difference between hard sell and soft sell sales and marketing. Among the points they made was describing the differences in mindset. “For hard sell marketers, their drive is primarily and exclusively money.” (p. 139) On the other hand, “Soft sell marketers serve the well-being of their customers and clients as their primary objective, and in so doing earn the income they desire—not the other way around.” (p. xxix)

As the whole emphasis for the 90 minutes of this call was on money, not service, not even really the customer’s concerns, but money — how to get more closes and get them at higher dollar amounts, they used a hard sell approach, no matter how soft it sounded.

Many people see soft sell sales and marketing as the domain of only caregivers like coaches, health practitioners, and other life-change providers. But my soft sell sales and marketing experience comes from business-to-business where I have found fun, fulfillment, and mutual rewards by developing a relationship with my customers and clients. When we focused first on the prospect’s situation and on understanding what he or she wanted and needed to accomplish, the “close” was anti-climactic. It was just the part of the relationship process where you help customers buy so they can start having the results they want.

Not all hard sell fits the stereotype of the pushy used car salesman. As my recent experience shows, soft hard sell can be very seductive. I’m so grateful to soft sell sales and marketing leaders like Judith & Jim for helping me clarify some guidelines so I can recognize why a particular sales approach feels wrong. I don’t need to second guess myself. It’s not a matter of lacking the guts to go for the jugular. It’s that I believe in and want to practice the soft sell sales approach of building the relationship, coming from heart-based selling. I help customers buy — when they are ready and what they want. And this style of sales and marketing makes selling fun, fulfilling, and mutually rewarding — payoffs that include far more than just money.