On Having a Natter, and Why It Might Just Be the Secret to Everything
Now, look. It’s a funny old thing, the world of business. We’ve spent the last twenty years inventing ever more complicated ways to avoid actually speaking to one another. You want to change your gas bill, you have to navigate a labyrinth of button-pressing choices, only to be cut off by a robot with the warmth of a broken freezer. Buying a new sofa online? A pop-up will instantly demand your email address with all the subtlety of a burglar.
It’s all a bit… barmy, isn’t it? We’re so busy ‘optimising funnels’ and ‘leveraging assets’ that we’ve forgotten the most powerful tool we ever had: a decent chat.
And that, in a nutshell, is what this new-fangled thing called ‘conversational selling’ is all about. Which, as is often the case with clever business terms, is just a fancy way of describing a bit of good, old-fashioned common sense. It’s the simple, rather lovely idea that the best way to sell something to someone is to have a nice, helpful conversation with them first.
Revolutionary, I know. Shall we give it a whirl?
The Secret Ingredient of Selling? Just a Bit of Human Decency
At its heart, this is all wonderfully simple. It’s about remembering there’s a person on the other end of the line or the chat window. A person who, like you or I, probably just wants to solve a problem with the minimum of fuss.
- For Goodness’ Sake, Let Them Get a Word In.
Remember those dreadful salespeople who talk at you for ten minutes solid? The sort of monologue that makes you want to fake your own death and move to a small, uncontactable island. The first rule here is simply to listen. Ask a question, a proper one like ‘What’s the trouble you’re having with the current setup?’, and then actually listen to the answer. It’s amazing what you’ll learn.Take Chris, who was trying to sell cloud software to a small chain of cafés. The owner was clearly bracing for a hard sell. But Chris asked one question — “What’s the one thing that slows your team down most?” — and just listened. Twenty minutes later, no slides, no pitch, just a real chat, and they’d agreed to a trial. The whole thing felt less like selling, more like swapping tips over a pint. - Be a Pal, Not a Pitch-Bot.
Nobody likes being ‘sold to’, but everyone appreciates a bit of help from someone they trust. The goal isn’t to ram a product down someone’s throat. It’s to build a little bit of rapport, to show them you’re a reasonable human being who understands their problem. The trust comes first, the sale might (or might not) come later. - One Size Fits Nobody.
We’ve all had those emails, haven’t we? ‘Dear Valued Customer,’ it begins before trying to sell you something you bought three years ago. It’s lazy. The joy of a conversation is that it’s personal by its very nature. You can talk about their specific problem, not the one you’ve written a script for. - Figure it Out Together.
Instead of presenting yourself as the genius with all the answers, try positioning yourself as a helpful collaborator. A simple ‘Well, let’s see… what if we tried this?’ makes the other person feel part of the solution. It becomes a team effort, which is always much nicer.One chap I know sells home office furniture. A client rang up, frustrated by a desk that looked lovely online but didn’t fit their awkward loft space. Instead of sending over alternatives straight away, he got out a tape measure, asked them to send a photo, and spent fifteen minutes helping sketch out the perfect setup. No hard sell — just good advice. They ordered the whole lot the next day, and he got three referrals that same week.
The Tricks of the Trade (Though They’re Not Really Tricks)
Right, so how do we actually go about having these wonderful conversations? It doesn’t have to be complicated. You’re likely doing some of it already.
The clever part is using all our modern technology not to hide from customers, but to make it easier to talk to them. Think of those little live chat pop-ups. They can be a bit eager, like a puppy wanting to play fetch, but if there’s a real, helpful person on the other end, they can be brilliant. Far better than being 47th in a phone queue.
You can have helpful little chatbots (the good ones, not the ones that just say ‘I do not understand’) to answer the simple questions, freeing up the actual humans for the more interesting, knotty problems. It’s about using technology to start the conversation, not to end it.
And when you are in that conversation, just remember your manners. If someone tells you about a problem, a simple, ‘Right, so if I’ve got this right, the main issue is that your current gadget keeps overheating?’ does two things. It shows you were listening, and it makes the other person feel terribly understood and clever.
So, What’s in It for You? (Apart from a Clearer Conscience)
This all sounds very nice and cosy. I hear you cry, but does it actually work? Well, it seems so. And the reasons are, again, disarmingly simple.
- People Will Actually Like You.
When you treat people with respect and genuinely help them, they tend to be rather pleased about it. They feel good about the experience, and they feel good about your company. And chuffed customers, as we all know, are the best kind. - You’ll Stop Wasting Time.
By having a proper chat early on, you can quickly work out if you’ve got the right thing for them. No more six-week email chains only to discover they needed the blue one, not the red one. It’s efficient. - They’ll Keep Coming Back.
You know that little coffee shop where they remember your name? You go back there, don’t you? This is the same idea. A good conversation builds a relationship, and relationships are what keep people loyal, long after the thrill of a 10% discount has faded. - You Get All the Best Gossip.
People will tell you all sorts in a friendly chat. What they love, what they hate, what their competitor is up to. It’s market research, but without the clipboards and the fluorescent lighting. It’s gold dust.
And There We Have It.
When you strip it all back, ‘conversational selling’ isn’t a sales strategy. It’s a life strategy. It’s about being curious, being helpful, and being human. It’s about realising that the shortest distance between a problem and a solution is, more often than not, a good, honest conversation.
In a world that’s getting faster and more automated, slowing down for a moment to have a proper natter might just be the most revolutionary thing you can do. And certainly the most pleasant. Now, who’s putting the kettle on?
