Selling Air

Some of the best sales people I have ever met don’t sell products that are sexy and fun to buy. They sell air.

I am not talking about entrepreneurs in heavily polluted China LITERALLY selling cans of fresh air. I am talking about selling anything where you can’t really see, touch, or even realize you have a need in some circumstances.

The chart below outlines what I am talking about. Someone who is selling air is usually selling something you NEED but don’t really want to spend money on (insurance, advertising, consulting, etc.) or, in some cases, something you don’t need AND are very reluctant to spend money on (think of investing in high risk new technology, etc.). “Hey, how would you like to invest in my new company that sells services to support a new technology that hasn’t been invented yet? Trust me, this is going to be HUGE!”

It is hard to sell anything nowadays but if you are selling “above the line” you are dealing with creating a need, removing hesitation, or BOTH. Pretty tough sledding and it requires great skill.

Here are the two things that separate great “air salespeople” from everyone else.

1)   They are prospecting machines: If you are selling something someone doesn’t want to buy guess what? The phone probably isn’t ringing with inbound leads. Whether it is cold calling, networking, developing social media leads, e-mail, etc. “air sellers” have a well-developed prospecting system that they devote time to daily. Keeping a self-generated pipeline full of prospects requires consistency and discipline. The best at the “air selling” game don’t put all their prospecting eggs in one basket but have multiple channels for developing new leads.

2)   They don’t sell features and benefits: Air salespeople have to be good at allowing prospects to see for themselves why the purchase is good for them. Just like point number one this is a good tactic for selling ANYTHING but it is critical for “air salespeople”. If you listen to a sales call conducted by a real pro you will notice that the PROSPECT is doing most of the talking.

3)   “Air Sellers” are great and getting mutually agreed upon next steps before and after every call: One of the main problems for all salespeople is having the prospect go into “hide: mode. Great “air sellers” have mastered the art of what Sandler Training calls the Up Front Contract to make sure every step in the process has clear and mutually agreed upon outcomes.

I could go on with this tribute to the great “Air Sales Professionals” of the world but I will close with this piece of advice. If you have a friend that has mastered the art of “selling air” take them to lunch, pick their brain, and learn everything you can. It will be well worth the investment!