Zero-Selling: X2 Your Sales Without 'Selling'

Zero-Selling?

As the term implies, it is a way to win sales, without ‘selling’. That is, without Needs Exploration, Pitching, Quoting, Overcoming Objections, Closing etc., the actions typically associated with ‘selling’. None of that.

Improbable? How can that possibly work?

Well you may ask. However, I’ve been doing it now for over thirty years. It is how I and the people I have led and/or coached became at least twice as effective as regular Sellers; up there with the top 10% of Sellers. I provided real-life examples in my last article, ‘Why your WHY wins/loses more Sales than your WHAT.’

That's not to boast. If I'm to advocate, I need credibility. Right? That article provides much-needed context and background for what follows.

Just as there’s many ‘selling’ methods, there are doubtless countless ‘zero-selling’ methods too. My purpose here is to advocate for the principle of not ‘selling’.

The Principle.

Zero-Selling is suited to Complex Sales. The more complex, the better. It less applicable to low-value transactional, short cycle, sales. This is the principle:

Albeit you are a vendor representative, you act as though you are an independent not aligned with any vendor and with no stake in an eventual sale. You have some (needn’t be much) generic Buyer domain knowledge. You display zero self-interest (the trust killer).

As you are ‘independent’, free of bias and have some relevant knowledge, Buyers soon trust you and welcome your offer to help them clarify their desired outcomes, diagnose problems etc. Then given you understand them and what they want to achieve, they accept your offer to help them invent their solution ? a specification, in generic Buyer language (no brands).

By then you are truly inside their tent, and they are keen for you to offer a product/service if you have a fit. If so, you make an offer. And even though they ask other vendors to bid, they know and trust you and 9/10 accept your offer.

Why Zero-Selling?

A 2023 Gartner survey found that 75% of Buyers would just as soon have a seller-free experience, which shouldn’t surprise anyone in B2B or even B2C sales, as it reflects the general perception (yes, I am generalizing) that Sellers are of no value and not to be trusted, or both.

I’m not being judgey, I'm just stating the common perception.

That said, if you are not concerned about the perception, then what I’m exploring here may be of little interest.

And I should clarify that I am sure most Sellers are trustworthy and genuinely keen to be of value.

That’s not the problem.

The problem is what Buyers think about what Sellers do and why they do it, rather than who Sellers are. Most of the time, Buyers hardly know the Seller.

Selling is the Problem

From a Buyer’s point of view, how Sellers engage with them is hardly endearing e.g.,

• Pitching.
• Influencing/persuading.
• Overcoming objections.
• Closing.

…and more, are to be endured rather than enjoyed.

No Buyer wants them. They are seller-centric practices intended to further seller interests. There is nothing in them for Buyers.

Self-interest is the #1 killer of trust. It is ironic then that Sellers seek to ‘build’ trust (by being credible, reliable and transparent) while simultaneously engaging in practices that systematically undermine it (self-interest)!

That’s like sawing off the branch you’re sitting on! Makes no sense.

We want to attract Buyers, not alienate them. Right?

And if we accept that, becoming trustworthy and of value is a way to do it.

But ‘selling’ doesn’t do that. It does the opposite.

Redefining Selling: Mission Impossible

I and countess Sellers, Coaches and others have sought to change the perception of selling from seller-centric to buyer-centric and at the same time elevate the stature and reputation of our profession.

That culminated for me in 2023, when I and some colleagues created The Seller Code of Conduct to codify a set of buyer-centric behaviours.

Notwithstanding those efforts I now realize that attempting to redefine selling is a mistake and frankly impossible, simply because ‘selling’ is what it is…

The verb/noun, ‘selling’ is an entrenched synonym for processes that imply 'influencing people to buy.'

Who am I, or anyone, to suggest it’s meaning should be changed?

Besides, many, perhaps most, Sellers are happy with it and that’s OK.

Nevertheless, ‘selling’ does not describe what I do. And I acknowledge that is my problem.

If Selling is a Problem, Zero-Selling is the Answer

If I’m not selling, then what am I doing?

Over the years I’ve thought ‘Buyer Empowerment’ or ‘Enablement’ etc., euphemisms for making it easy for Buyers to buy. I went with ‘Natural Selling’, then ‘Same Page Selling’ and eventually 'Clean Selling,' figuring they inferred 'not selling', but they were too subtle, and nobody got it.

So now I’m going with a generic ‘Zero-Selling’ for the time being* as a working title. It's clunky, but at least it’s unambiguous in communicating what it really is.

*Suggestions for a better title welcome! Please comment.

What is ‘Zero-Selling’?

Zero-Selling is about attracting Buyers rather than alienating them. Creating an environment in which they want to buy.

It is not simply a technique, but a mindset. As Simon Sinek explains in his best seller ‘Start with Why’, ‘great leaders inspire action not because of what they do, but because of why they do it.’ ?And that’s how it is with Zero-Sellers. Their mindset, their WHY, is to empower Buyers and that is why Buyers believe in them and follow (are influenced by) them.

Zero-Sellers think and act differently. They are motivated to serve, not sell. I’ll use Sinek’s Golden Circle model to illustrate the difference.

?

A Seller’s purpose (their WHY) is to make sales by influencing Buyers to buy (their HOW) their product (their WHAT).

Whereas...

A Zero-Seller’s purpose (their WHY) is to be of value to Buyers by empowering/enabling them (their HOW) to create the best solutions for themselves (their What).?

The obvious difference is that Zero-Sellers are devoid of self-interest, where for Sellers making sales is their motivation. That is not to say Sellers aren’t concerned for Buyers, most are, however that is secondary.

Their primary interest is to sell stuff.? Huge difference.

Now you’re probably thinking that’s all very Pollyanna-ish and that a Seller’s purpose should be to make sales,. Surely? What profit is there in being Buyer-centric if they don’t buy anything?

There would be none.

However, the reality is, they do buy.

And they buy more often and at higher margins than they do from Sellers they don’t trust or value. Zero-Sellers also learn more quickly when they're not going to buy and save themselves the time Sellers waste chasing losers.

They buy from Zero-Sellers because:

Buyers need someone they can trust to help them make decisions they don’t trust themselves to make.

That’s not an original quote and I don’t know who first said it. I wish I did. My point is that real trust, which Zero-Sellers engender and regular Sellers rarely experience, changes everything.

As I mentioned earlier, my personal experience and that of others, is that a Zero-Selling approach is at least twice as effective as ‘selling’, with win rates of 50 to 70%, compared to the 20-30% that most Sellers achieve.

HOW to do Zero-Selling

HOW is an extensive topic that addresses strategy i.e., facilitating the steps in the Buyer Journey. as well as tactics i.e., Buyer interactions, such as growing trust, qualifying, collaborating, exploring perceptions of value, creating solutions etc. All of which are different to regular selling.

My earlier article How to Have Buyers Want you to Specify Their Solution provides an overview of a typical set of steps, and then One Step to Double Your Sales explores the most critical step, which is collaborating with Buyers (I call it INVENT) to create their solution.

As you might expect, the process is the virtual opposite of traditional Selling. Products and offers etc. come right at the end. You will have 90% won the sale before you offer anything.

Similarly, the required behaviors are the virtual opposite e.g., service orientated vs. pushy, asking vs. telling etc.

Changing entrenched Seller habits to become 100% Buyer-centric is the biggest challenge in adopting Zero-Selling. Ironically, 'not selling' just doesn't feel natural!

The Zero-Selling Effect

The trust (and intimacy) created by a total lack of self-interest results in Buyer engagement that regular Sellers rarely experience, which means, for example:

• Buyers are keen to engage. They enjoy the experience!
• You engage much earlier in the Buyer Journey than regular Sellers.
• Open and honest communication with exclusive insights.
• Qualify quickly. You soon learn whether there is opportunity or not.
• Buyer Journeys are typically shorter than Sales Cycles.
• Buyers, confident you understand them see you as part of their solution.
• Buyers want you to collaborate to create their solution.
• Buyers commit to solutions they create (that’s science: The IKEA Effect).
• Your offer is naturally the best match to their solution, and 9/10 they buy!
• Freeze out competition. Buyers are reluctant to repeat exercise with others.

Note the lack of product discussion. There is none, until your offer. In my case, for example, it is step six in a six-step process. So, no mention of product, service or company until 85-90% of the way through the ‘Buyer Journey'.

By any interpretation, it is not 'Selling'!

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If you would like to explore how 'Zero-Selling' might work in your sales environment, please ask. Pick a time for a no pressure obligation-free (and selling free!) chat.

My focus is Buyer-Centric sales approaches; you will find plenty of free material in the?Resources page of my website.

And, join the conversation to help reshape the perception of Sellers in the?Implementing the Seller Code?Group.

Finally, for an insight into how Buyer and value-focused your sales processes are, try this FREE self-assessment. There are two versions.

Individuals or Sales Teams?and one?especially for MSP's

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