If you’ve been following ‘Slow Selling’ for any amount of time, I think it’s important that you know our deepest secrets, so you can definitely say:
Either: ‘No, this is definitely not for us’.
Or: ‘Yes, I like this attitude and set of beliefs … I need to keep in touch with ‘Slow Selling’’.
One of the great problems with life today is the ability to make sound decisions as to where you’re going to devote your time or spend your money, without the fear of being misled or ripped off.
So many big brands have become expert at marketing … to persuade us to do and buy things that we afterwards regret, because, over the long term, we’ve realized that we’ve been misled and sold some real horse manure … but that it was so well packaged, it looked irresistible at the time!
So many businesses are great at wrapping up their wolf-like intent in soft and cuddly sheep’s clothing!
For example:
- The short-term loan companies that advertise themselves as ‘friendly and helpful’ – one is even called ‘Amigo’! – but in reality, will hang you out to dry with extortionate rates.
- The social media platforms that have hoodwinked us all to spend far too much time and attention on them, because they’ve made themselves irresistible (literally) and are at the same time selling our data and actions down the line. We have become the product!
- The sugary food and drink brands that advertise with slim and healthy people doing happy things: the exact opposite from the reality of the product…
- Builders that clad tower blocks with flammable material to save costs … and suppliers who are ‘creative’ with paperwork to make this look ok.
- Even the mighty Amazon caused massive customer unrest when it emerged that they weren’t treating their employees all that well … in the relentless pursuit of cost minimisation and ‘efficiency’!
- And only recently, I saw an advert for a solicitor that encouraged me to come to them, because they were ‘Solicitors you can trust!’. It beggars belief, doesn’t it!
So, unsurprisingly, most customers have become somewhat wary of businesses.
They will often want to ask, particularly when the business is suggesting you follow a set of systems:
‘Is this a principled and trustworthy business, or am I being taken for a mug?’
‘How can I know?’
We’d all like to know!
So, my suggestion to help you solve this problem on a regular basis is: if you’re worried about a company or organisation, delve a bit deeper into their communication:
Look at their statements deep in their P&Ls on their website, or their communications to shareholders. This is where the real motivations lie.
Do they crow about profit margin growth and never mention customer reputation and loyalty, or do they prioritise their reputation and talk about it first before profit?
What promises do they make to shareholders: Is it ‘To continually grow shareholder return’ (which is what it usually is), or is it ‘To continually grow reputation and loyalty, and, through this, to provide a good long-term return to shareholders’?
So, to answer the original question of this blog: ‘What’s the unique selling point of ‘Slow Selling’, and why might you trust us?’
Here’s a couple of answers:
- Kindness. I know it doesn’t sound very ‘business like’, but it’s true: we are all sentient beings sharing an existence on a single planet. This isn’t about me and how many toys I can accumulate over a set number of years. This is about sharing powerful information that has been hugely helpful to me in my businesses. It’s about trying to do the best job I can as a teacher, and to make life easier and more rewarding for independent business owners, who so often are struggling out there on their own. Kindness really matters. Without kindness, life can become unbearable.
- Principles: There are certain principles that govern ‘how things work’. We are familiar with principles in areas such as Physics and the laws of the universe, but there are also principles that govern human behaviour. These principles will be found in the core of every religion, and are timeless, universal and self-evident. After learning this, I’ve searched and searched from my own experiences, and continual learning to find principles behind business success: what principles have driven the truly successful businesses we see all around us? Not the ‘flashes in the pan’ and definitely not quick fixes … instead, what are the underlying principles that have driven huge levels of growth through customer reputation, loyalty and referrals? These principles have never changed … indeed, they’ve become more and more powerful in the age of the empowered customer and two-way mass communication.
So there we have it: what’s the unique selling point of ‘Slow Selling’?
Kindness and principles.
So my tip for this week is: always look for the underlying guiding principles of businesses, and, when you find principles and values that you can really support, it may be a good idea to stick with them, engage with them and tell all your friends about them…
To listen to the Podcast on this subject, please click below:
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(You’ll also get a free ebook – The 7 Deadly Sins of Sales – and 3 exclusive videos about how to grow business without sacrificing your principles or your profits).
Slow Selling is a UK based not for profit organisation for leaders and managers in independent businesses.
Our systems deliver peace of mind and confidence to caring leaders and managers who have limited time and resources, and want to grow their business … all without sacrificing principles or profits.
To find out more, please click here
