Most of us think of promoting our business as “sales”–we give sales pitches, try to get prospective individuals interested in what we have to offer, and then we try to win them over until they become paying clients or customers. There may be a different approach, however, and you might consider thinking of ways to “invite” people to become involved in your business.
This is not a new approach–I am sure if you think of some ad campaigns or interactions you have had with other companies, you will recall being “invited to get involved” or “invited to become a customer.” There is something very gracious and welcoming about this approach and it is definitely much softer than the hard sell way of doing business.
Consider using phrases like “I would like to invite you to take a look at the products we have to offer” or “We welcome those individuals who are interested in high quality and a reasonable price.” By putting your pitch out there to the prospect as an invitation, you are letting him or her know that you want their business, but you understand that you are entering into a partnership of sorts and you are the host. Putting an invitation out there feels different than trying to coerce someone into becoming a client or customer and the other party will feel that difference.
There is more than one way to skin a cat and there is more than one way to approach our sales pitches or getting people involved with our businesses as clients and/or customers. It is important to find a strategy or approach that you feel comfortable with and that suits your business mission as well. Using an invitation approach is one way that you can reach prospects and invite them to get involved with your home business.
See Also: Get Your Customers to Talk to You
Working on Your Persuasion Skills