Seed and Grow Rich

By Lisa Sasevich

Seed and Grow Rich!
A Proven Appoach to Selling That’s Not Salesy
by Lisa Sasevich
“Queen of Sales Conversion”

The dictionary definition of ‘seed’ is:

• A fertilized plant ovule containing an embryo capable of developing a new plant; a source; offspring; to plant seeds in.

Seeding while giving a live presentation is the technique of planting valuable little tidbits of useful information (seeds) that come from the products or services you will be offering for sale some time during your presentation. It works wonderfully in both group and one-on-one situations and works in any medium, whether on the phone, live or on a recorded product. 

If done well, seeding should create a hunger in the person listening so that they want more.  You give them something very valuable and also let them know that more of that good stuff can be found in your book, CD, weekend workshop, etc…

There is a particular place that I come from with seeding that has been very, very effective for me over the last 19 years. It has certainly been one of the keys to my success as a speaker, trainer and salesperson.

I’ve used this approach everywhere from leading personal growth seminars all the way through selling and presenting for big companies like Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and Hewlett Packard.

This is part of what makes up “my style” as a trainer, and it happens to be a skill that is also transferable. In other words, it’s teachable. You don’t have to be me to pull it off.  It’s something you can learn as a skill and it will do magical things for your presentation style and sales results.

Seeding Mistakes You See All The Time

Have you ever been at a presentation where you loved the speaker, they’re providing so much value…and then they switch into their “sales mode”?

They start “doing sales” on you? Sometimes their voice changes or they start speaking like an auctioneer or the Ginsu Knife guy?

Sometimes they’re so passionate about their subject that when they’re teaching their voice is really enthusiastic and they are very self expressed, but when they switch into “doing sales” they go down a few octaves. Their enthusiasm, which was there the whole time, shifts into a mode of, “Okay, bear with me, I’m going to do the sales part now.”

Another common mistake that a lot of speakers make is they passionately provide value throughout their whole talk and then they throw in the “sales part” at the last few minutes.  They get their sales sheet out or their special offers for the day and they run through it really quickly. Sometimes they do it so quickly that you’re not exactly sure what they’re talking about. They’re trying to hurry as if they are doing this bad thing to you and they better hurry up and get it over with.

There’s this whole mode that you see trainers shift gears into and it’s not very enrolling. It doesn’t drive you toward them and what they’re offering.  In fact, it gives me the heebie-jeebies!

A New Place to Come From

Many of my consulting and coaching clients are really wonderful creative people who are offering a fabulous product or service, but they are the best kept secret in their industry because of their fear of being too pushy or salesy.  They are afraid they will turn people off. This approach works really well for them.

My approach to seeding is called “Partnership from the Start.”

From the very beginning of my presentation, I establish a partnership with my audience. It allows me to unabashedly promote my offerings, without seeming salesy or pushy. In fact, it’s fun!

Whether I’m speaking for 45 minutes or for two days, where I come from to establish this partnership is this:

• I have a limited amount of time with my audience.
• The information I am providing is super-valuable and will transform their lives, their business, etc...
• And even though I have a specified amount of time with them, I have more to give them than I can possibly fit into the time we have.
• Thus, I’m going to give them as much value as I can possibly squeeze into our allotted time.
• And as a service to them, as I touch on subjects that I have more to say about, but not enough time to include it all, I will point out where they can get more on that subject.
• This is what a true partner would do.

I tell them right from the beginning, “Since we have a limited amount of time together, I’m going to give you everything I can in the time we have. From experience I can tell you that there will be some topics that you will likely want to dive deeper into and we just won’t have time. So, along the way I’ll show you how you can get more on that subject through one of the resources I offer. And then later today, I’ll show you how you can get some amazing deals on my products and services if you feel inspired and want more.”

What This Approach Does For You As A Speaker, Trainer or Salesperson:

Using this approach right from the beginning has more benefits than I can begin to describe. Here are the top 4:

1. If you seed as a partner from the beginning, then you don’t have to switch into “Sales Mode” when it comes time to talk about your product offerings. You’ve already given valuable tidbits from each of your products and pointed them out along the way.
   
2. When it comes time to present your special offers, you just have to remind them that this is the product that contains the great information you gave them about X, and it has 17 more secrets beyond what you were able to share with them in the limited amount of time you had together.
   
3. You don’t end up having to describe each and every product you are offering when you get to presenting your special offers. You already did it briefly while you were seeding. Thus, you don’t end up with a long “sales part” at the end. The whole time you were pointing out where they could get more on the topics you covered, and then you show them how to get it on special.
   
4. It relaxes your audience because they’re not wondering when “the big close” is coming. You told them how it was going to go and what you were going to do and you are doing it.

This is the best approach I’ve found for wonderful trainers who have a hard time being salespeople. With your mind coming from a place of partnership and service, you will truly want your audience to have the benefit of your offering. Thus, you are just focused on completely serving them…rather than selling them.

A Few Words of Caution

You really do have to come from and believe that you have great information and you truly do have a limited amount of time with these people. You need to believe that it is truly is a service to show them how it all fits together and where to get more.  If you don’t believe that, then maybe you are really not connected to the benefits of what you are offering. You can’t try to “do” this technique. It’s a place to come from.

This is not about trying to squeeze a little product plug in everywhere you can. This is about giving value and then pointing out where more can be found. You want to teach for a while, give some value and then, when there’s a truly appropriate time to show someone where more value can be found, you show them from a consultative place.

Imagine checking out a new restaurant and the owner comes out and reads you the menu. Informative at best. Now imagine that he comes out with a sample tray of the top five dishes they offer. You get to taste and smell the food and if it’s good…you want more!

It’s the same when you’re seeding. You can’t just read them the menu of what you offer. Give them a taste of your best, something they can sink their teeth into and can immediately apply in their life and/or business. Make it so good, that they leave feeling served and like they got tremendous value whether they bought or not.

When you seed well you leave your audience thinking, “That appetizer was so good…I can’t wait to have the whole meal!”

Are You Ready For The Whole Meal?

As I write this my mind is exploding with all of the other critical elements that dramatically increase sales at your live presentations.

You are probably wondering things like…

Once you’ve seeded well, what are the key elements to presenting your Special Offers? And, what are the secrets to Designing Irresistible Offers? What makes someone act now and buy “the whole meal?”

I have an idea!

Meet me on July 6 at the NEW meeting in Santa Monica. I’ll cover everything I can on Designing and Presenting Irresistible Offers in the time we have together. And I promise you, if there are subjects you want even more on, I’ll point out where you can get more and most likely offer you a great deal!

(See how I did that?!)

Contact Lisa Sasevich at (619) 818-2300 or lisa4mktg@aol.com

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE FOR YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Lisa Sasevich, "The Queen of Sales Conversion," has x-ray vision for seeing the sales conversion opportunities that exist in every company, and the creativity to convert them into gold! Lisa delivers customized, high impact, low cost sales strategies for entrepreneurs and small business owners. If you're tired of leaving thousands of dollars on the meeting room floor, contact Lisa Sasevich today at 619-818-2300 or lisa4mktg@aol.com