I was recently asked by a colleague, what I considered to be the most helpful or important learning I have received during my period of marketing coaching. It was a great question, and I wanted to share the answer with you since it is so powerful.

Having said that, it was difficult to choose because there have been so many, too many to recount here, but the most helpful in terms of bringing in clients to work with me has been to be totally detached from the outcome when having a €sales conversation€.

What do I mean by that? Well, what I mean is, I never, ever, ever pick up the phone and have a conversation with a prospective client if I feel like I really NEED to work with that person or I really NEED the money.

It is sooooo important that when you are having conversations with prospective clients that you are not coming from a place of lack, ie, that you do not NEED the sale. Neediness is a real turn off, and even more so when it comes to prospective clients.

We've all had a conversation at some time or other with a salesperson that really needed that sale, and we know how icky it felt, the desperation was palpable. That is definitely not an authentic sales conversation.

There is no authenticity in leading a potential client into investing in your services for your benefit. The one thing you must have invested in the conversation is your desire for your potential client's results.

Making a call when you don't need anything from that person is just so much easier anyway. When you understand that it is not about you and your needs, but about your potential client and their needs, it actually takes a lot of the pressure off you.

Your job as the service/product provider is to ensure that you are very clear on what your potential client needs and wants and then if and when you know you can help, to share how your service or product can do that.

It's not your job to get caught up in raving about the training school you attended and the qualifications you have, and how your service or product is the best on the market because it has sold millions. That's not serving your potential client well.

It is your job to be very, very clear on the results and benefits you can deliver and the value you are offering so that your potential client can really grasp the fact that you have the answer to their problems.

And once you have shared that, and asked if they want to work with you, then this is where you are detached to the outcome.