So, you have a product or service, and now it is time to sell. The only problem is, you do not know where to start. You may have even tried some selling strategies already, and they have come to nothing.

As entrepreneurs and leaders, it can be hard to get people on your side. For the leader, you have to convince people that you are going the right way. And for the entrepreneur, you have to convince people that your product or service is worth their money.

One of the essential things I learned in economics is this:

“People only buy things when they believe the price is lower than its worth.”

In other words, we only commit to something if we believe we are getting more in return. Whether that is your new pair of shoes or your weekly food shop, every item you picked up and brought you believed was worth more than what you paid for it.

You might have complained at the time or even said, “I am only getting it because I need it”. Yet still, the need for it increased its worth at that moment, and the price became worth the cost to you.

Why am I telling you this?

Well, first it is vital to know that people are greedier than we think. Although some are more inclined to maximising behaviour than others, we all seek to bring about the most happiness in our lives.

Second, the only way we sell anything is by making the other person believe it is worthwhile. The only problem is, people are in control of their choices and seek to feel like they made the right one. That is how we all gain happiness from our choices.

Unfortunately, the bold selling strategy of telling people why they need something or what they want does not work often. People feel stripped of their choice and do not believe they have been part of forming the solution.

Although selling is an art and can be a challenge, there is one way we can sell anything to anyone. I have not guaranteed it is easy, neither will it happen overnight. However, here is one way you can sell your ideas, products and services to others to increase your chances.

The One Thing People Will Always Pay For

We are human at the end of the day, and that means we are pack animals. Our societies have thrived from being able to communicate and work with one another.

You do not have to look far to realise that we are all dependent on each other. Many of our monthly payslips come from others being able to organise the work. Our jobs exist thanks to a need for our speciality and interests. And even our favourite meal exists thanks to others liking it too.

We all need each other, and without our connected world, we would cease to exists. Part of needing one another also puts pressure on us to conform.

Whether we like it or not, the Asch conformity test shows us that humans want to be part of a group.

In a nutshell, Asch sits one student in a classroom with other students who are “in on” the test. Then he presents a set of simple questions that even a 6-year-old would be able to guess right.

Nevertheless, the students “in on” the test all guess the wrong answer purposely, leaving the student who knows the right answer to make a decision. Either they lie to conform with everyone else and not look weird, or they tell the truth.

Although we would like to think that we would all be honest and tell the truth, that is not factual. Unfortunately, 75% of people conformed and decided to say the wrong answer to not look weird or stupid.

The price to conform with others is extremely high, and the majority of people are willing to pay the cost. Even if it means they have to go against their own character or lie.

So now you ask, what does this have to do with selling?

Social Proof Forces Us to Conform

Social proof is a psychological fact that tells us people will conform to be liked by or accepted by the influencer. Therefore, one of the best ways to sell is by convincing people that everyone is doing it.

We see this selling strategy in many of the adverts we see. People tell you that you should join the thousands who are doing it. So, why is it not effective?

Well, for starters, humans do not seek social proof from those without influence. We would not seek to impress an 8-year-old on a football pitch, but we may want to impress our boss who could give us a bonus.

The problem with telling people everyone is doing it is the messenger, not the message. We can see from the Asch test that the student was amongst other students. That put pressure on the student to be like their peers.

We do not feel the pressure to conform unless it benefits us in some way. So, the power of selling in this way is not found in you, but in the power of other influences in the individuals life.

Start Selling to Those Who Have Others to Sell To

We have all seen things like referral links and surveys that ask to suggest this product to someone else. However, how often have you gone on to refer a product or service you enjoyed?

The reality is, unless the pressure is there to be part of the masses, we will not act on it. Neither will we tell our friends, family and colleagues to join us. Until we feel the urge to conform, we will not act.

Here is another question. How many times have you referred a product to a friend, and they went on to check it out? You probably have a high conversion rate for this. You may not be the best seller in the world, but when telling your friends about a place they should visit or a film they should watch, you get a sell.

Therefore, the key is to sell to people who have more people to sell to. I have seen so many articles on this platform on writing tools like Notion. These writers are probably not affiliates and do not owe Notion anything. But their want to conform and tell other writers to conform causes them to act.

Your Next Step

The way to carry out this strategy is by taking a more personal approach to the people you sell to directly. You do this by asking them questions like:

• Is there anyone else you know I could help
• Who are the top 3 people you know that would love this product?
• Who would you tell about this service?

These types of questions give you the answers you need to sell what you want. You can encourage your customer to tell the people and follow up with a message in a week asking if they got round to it.

If you wish to connect people to your product or service, you ought to do it through the help of others.