Can we use blogs for selling? I’m often asked this question and I’ve also seen a bit of a debate going on around the blogosphere about it of late, so here’s my take on it.

For me, it depends totally on what you interpret as “selling”. According to what your response to that is, then my answer will range from “absolutely not” to “yes, of course, that’s the whole reason for having a business blog”. Basically, anywhere from zero to ‘off the scale’.

Not too much help as yet, I know.

To help explain how I think selling should be done on a blog, I’d like to tell you a story – a fable from Aesop called “The North Wind and the Sun”. It goes something like this:

The North Wind and the Sun disputed as to which was the most powerful, and agreed that he should be declared the victor who could first strip a wayfaring man of his clothes. The North Wind first tried his power and blew with all his might, but the keener his blasts, the closer the Traveler wrapped his cloak around him.

At last, resigning all hope of victory, the Wind called upon the Sun to see what he could do. The Sun suddenly shone out with all his warmth. The Traveler no sooner felt his genial rays than he took off one garment after another, and at last, fairly overcome with heat, undressed and bathed in a stream that lay in his path.

The stated moral of the story is that Persuasion is more successful than Force. So let’s take that idea and look at it in the context of selling.

If you are thinking of using your blog in the style of a door to door salesman, then please don’t. If you are looking to focus on the “interruption” style of marketing that we’ve been subjected to for years, then I would also advise a rethink.

Why? Most people have a real aversion to the “hard sell” and it’s certain to have a negative effect on your readers. In any case, a blog is never going to be a good method of engaging in this type of selling - blogs work best as a two way dialogue rather than a sales pitch monologue. This type of strong arm tactic, represented by the “North Wind” in the fable, will generally result in the reader leaving our blog, unlikely ever to return.

However, there is another way. Instead we can engage in relationship or educational selling (or marketing if you prefer), building trust with our readers and letting them familiarise themselves with the product or service that we offer. How do we do that? Through our posts, we engage with them and allow them to get to know us. We also help them to understand what we do by continually delivering information which is relevant to them … and yet also relevant to our business, our products/services and the market in which we work.

The result is a much deeper understanding of how what we do can benefit and impact their business - this is because they will have had the opportunity to examine and develop their ideas of its actual uses in their situation. Therefore, when you do sit down with the (now) prospect, it will be with one who has already gone far down the road to deciding that they want to commit and one with a much greater likelihood of implementing and using it properly.

All of this benefits us because it results in a happier client, a strong ongoing business relationship and positive word of mouth about us and our product/service.

At the end of the day, for me, it’s all about the difference between trying to sell something to someone and helping them decide that they want to buy from you. As a customer, I know which I prefer - so, be like the Sun and try the persuasive approach as a seller as well.

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