Offer or Sell?

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Offering or selling?Let me ask you a question:

Are you offering what you sell, or selling what you offer?

One is about relationships, the other transactions.
One is about pull, the other push.
One is about permission, the other interruption.
One is about engagement, the other broadcast.
One is about conviction, the other convincing.
One is about giving, the other taking.
One is long-term, the other short.
One is about value, the other cost.
One is about relevance, the other utility.
One is about service, the other commodity.
One is about finding opportunity, the other filling holes.

One is about them, the other…you.

Do you see a difference? What are you doing?

Image credit: mi°

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By

Tamsen McMahon helps people get from where they are to where they're going. She's also the Vice President of Digital Strategy at Allen & Gerritsen, and a Weight Watchers leader. She writes on individual change at PersonalCartography.com.

  • RebeccaOsberg

    Thanks for a great post! It's very thought provoking, and one of those reads where you really hope you're on the right side. My goal is just to offer as much information of value to who I perceive to be my ideal reader and hope that will prompt them to learn about what I sell. Perhaps that's even too soft of a way to go about it. But for now, it's my very unofficial strategy.

  • RebeccaOsberg

    Thanks for a great post! It's very thought provoking, and one of those reads where you really hope you're on the right side. My goal is just to offer as much information of value to who I perceive to be my ideal reader and hope that will prompt them to learn about what I sell. Perhaps that's even too soft of a way to go about it. But for now, it's my very unofficial strategy.

  • http://www.sociallypopular.com Socially Popular

    Good stuff! I love short and to the point posts like this one. The one that catches me is pull not push. It makes total sense, especially with how things are changing today.

  • http://www.youintegrate.com Kneale Mann

    I was unsure until I read your post, Tamsen. Now I am completely confused. Thanks. :-)

  • http://www.youintegrate.com Kneale Mann

    I was unsure until I read your post, Tamsen. Now I am completely confused. Thanks. :-)

  • http://ariwriter.com Ari Herzog

    If you imply sales is bad, is fundraising equally bad — compared to giving funds?

  • Dstill

    Absolutely fantastic – thank you!

  • clintstonebraker

    There is a HUGE difference. Another I just thought of is purpose vs. job. I love what I do. I would (and have) do what I do for free. Although I can sometimes become stressed or annoyed, I generally enjoy my work. I know it serves a purpose and makes a difference.

  • http://www.RestaurantWorx.com Jeffrey Summers

    One is about innovation, the other about problem solving.

  • Francesca Trinidad

    This post may be applicable to many facets of life as we know it but lets focus on sales and service. oftentimes, we draw a fine (albeit unseen) line between giving value versus just making a sale. do we give of ourselves in the products that we sell or do we just want to hit the quota that's given to us? does it speak about our desire to be of service to our fellow men or do we look out for number one exclusively?

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  • http://www.jeremymeyers.com/ Jeremy Meyers

    Good insight as always Ms McMahon. I'm wondering if there's a way to angle this to more specifically address the skeptics, nonbelievers and those still 100% bought into the 'old way' rather than a balance of old and new, like we've been discussing. We have so much preaching to the choir, and your voice is so important to the discussion, that I'm hoping we can continue to tailor the discussion to those who most need to be influenced by it, rather than telling it like it is in a way that people who already know how it is can relate to.

  • http://brasstackthinking.com Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    I'm not saying sales as a function is bad–but that the mindset of selling (which is unfortunately endemic to most fundraising shops) can actually work at cross-purposes to your stated goals.

  • http://brasstackthinking.com Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    That's the power of mindset, isn't it? We see the world we think we do.

  • http://brasstackthinking.com Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    Yes!

  • http://brasstackthinking.com Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    I like how you phrased that: “giving value versus just making a sale.” It's amazing that sometimes the difference between value and a sale is so great….

  • http://brasstackthinking.com Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    I agree, Jeremy, that we need to figure out how to preach to the congregation–or at least to the agnostics. As my husband said to me once, “you'll never convince an evangelist to switch religions.” It' true of anyone who holds fast to a way of doing things–and, more importantly, neither sees the need nor has the desire to make a change.

    I wonder if it's not so much about tailoring the discussion (though that's important to get oneself heard: you have to speak the language), as it is about finding how to get into a discussion in the first place. That's the larger challenge, in my eyes, and the one that stumps me often.

  • http://www.convinceandconvert.com jaybaer

    Do I need to change my blog to “Conviction & Convert”? Doesn't have the same ring.

  • http://membershipjedi.com MikeCassidy

    Awesome. You offer so much in so few words. Instead of sales teams, we should be cultivating offer teams. Thanks!

  • http://twitter.com/andrea_zak Andrea Zak

    Thanks for sharing such a provocative question and statement set. It's applicable across business and my personal life.

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  • http://brasstackthinking.com Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    Don't you dare. ;)

  • Murray Hill

    And…. one is about listening, the other talking.

  • http://www.jeremymeyers.com/ Jeremy Meyers

    I often think a post entitled “how social media will make you money” would be hugely popular. I don't think many of us (myself included) are as strong at “leading a horse to water” as we need to be. Perhaps its our own stubbornness and unwillingness to maybe be influenced by those more sales-focused minds and opinions that get in our way? Every interaction between two people leaves both a little changed, but when we talk about bringing people to our side of the fence, we rarely consider how close we need to get to the fence ourselves in order to have that conversation.

    Maybe we do ourselves a disservice in this way?

    What are we willing to take on and learn from “the other side” in order to bring balance?

  • http://www.jeremymeyers.com/ Jeremy Meyers

    I often think a post entitled “how social media will make you money” would be hugely popular. I don't think many of us (myself included) are as strong at “leading a horse to water” as we need to be. Perhaps its our own stubbornness and unwillingness to maybe be influenced by those more sales-focused minds and opinions that get in our way? Every interaction between two people leaves both a little changed, but when we talk about bringing people to our side of the fence, we rarely consider how close we need to get to the fence ourselves in order to have that conversation.

    Maybe we do ourselves a disservice in this way?

    What are we willing to take on and learn from “the other side” in order to bring balance?

  • http://brasstackthinking.com Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    Perfect. That absolutely belongs in that list.

  • http://www.blog.outsidethemkt.com Ageorge

    Great post…simple and spot on. Thank you.

  • http://www.blog.outsidetheboxmkt.com Ageorge

    Great post…simple and spot on. Thank you.

  • http://randelldesign.com/ Randy Dunning

    This is crazy-ridiculous fantastic!

  • JamieLee

    Long-time Amber fan, first time Tamsen reader here … and I'm so glad to be here.
    Great post. You've boiled the essence of the difference between offering and selling into 110 wisdom-packed words. No fluff, no posing, no smoke or mirrors; just – here's the facts, Jack (or Jane).

    Just stopped the presses on our weekly wrap-up at Savvy B2B Marketing to make sure this made the list of our top picks of the week. Thanks for sharing!

  • http://brasstackthinking.com Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    Thanks so much! I think it's important to stop and think about how we approach what we do–and what effect that might have on our hoped-for success. Thanks for commenting, and for including us at Savvy B2B Marketing!

  • JamieLee

    Thinking before doing … now there's a concept!! ;)
    Looking fwd to reading more.
    Have a great weekend!

  • http://bryonsheffield.com/ Ironshef

    “We rarely consider how close we need to get to the fence…”

    Wow. That sentiment not only hits the nail on the head in this little sidebar, but it drives that nail right through the board like a professionally-delivered judo chop. Folks are often afraid that getting too close to an opposing point of view will leave them with intellectual cooties.

    In agreement that stepping up to the fence is essential for productive dialog, but a quick look at Congress demonstrates that proximity is not enough. Being unafraid of approaching the fence (or the aisle, as the case may be) is a good start. Being willing to step over, through or around and experience the alternative – and inviting the other side to do the same – is what enables progress.

  • http://www.jeremymeyers.com/ Jeremy Meyers

    I dig the phrase “Intellectual Cooties”. Would love to have your feedback over on the blog post I built around the comment here, Bryan.. http://www.jeremymeyers.com/business-2-0/how-so…

  • http://twitter.com/EarlyTone Matthew C.

    Idiotic. Semantics.

  • http://brasstackthinking.com Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    I actually find that semantics mean a great deal when it comes to setting mindset. Yes, of course you can say (as you have, essentially) that the words are the same. But words hold great power to both our conscious and subconscious selves.

    Being thoughtful about the words we use to describe what we do can help us be more thoughtful about how we do it. And that goes far beyond semantics.

  • http://twitter.com/abonde Allen Bonde

    I'll say! Personality, context, culture etc all are part of what makes words, well, more than just words!

    So here's one for your list: one is about discussion, the other a pitch

  • http://brasstackthinking.com Tamsen McMahon (@tamadear)

    Thanks, Allen. That addition definitely belongs in there!

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    I am very glad to come across this site…. I hope i am going to meet a lot of customers from this site…

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