The thought of selling causes many virtual assistants cringe. The idea of selling their services is something that can feel anywhere from uncomfortable to distasteful.

The thought of persuading their potential customers to take a specific course of action – even if it will benefit them – smacks of manipulation. For many people, “selling” has become a four-letter word.

Well, first off you’ve got to take a look at your view of selling. Selling is not being pushy, it isn’t brainwashing and it’s not getting people to do things they don’t want to do.

You need to think of sales as being of service to people. You have created a great business that helps people do something important. There are many people who could benefit tremendously from this expertise and support you have to share.

So, isn’t selling really about providing a service to them? You are helping to implement changes in a person’s life – so they can start changing their life.

Try to think of selling as:

• illustrating the benefits you offer
• helping people overcome any concerns they may have about using your services, by listening and making suggestions
• inviting them to take action

Another way to look at selling is to think of it as persuasion. Persuasion is not so much about convincing people how great you and your services are, but more like being able to listen and focus on the needs and objectives of your clients.

Persuasion and selling are all about finding ways to meet people’s needs and wants in a way that is agreeable to both parties. It’s about listening and being able to provide solutions to ensure they are buying the right service and package for them.

Selling and persuasion means being totally focused on how you can be of service to someone – always answering their question, “What’s in it for me?” It means spending the majority of your conversations with prospects and clients finding out about their needs.

You can dig further and determine exactly what objectives they need met in order to be satisfied – is it price, time, not sure about the “fit”, lack of confidence, fear of buyer’s remorse, and so on.

Marketing and selling are making sure that a fit exists between your services and the client’s needs and wants.

When you approach selling and marketing with the attitude that you are there to help the client out, and one of the results of that is your monetary compensation, then you can let go of some of your negative views about selling yourself and your capabilities.