How to Sell Your Products to Your Friends and Family

01.27.10

I was looking through some photos on a friends Facebook page and she was showing pictures of her trip in Arizona (which happens to be the state I now live in). If you use Facebook, you will know that people can add comments to peoples status updates and their photos and photo albums. Some of these strings of conversation get pretty long.

The snippets of conversation turned into how dry Arizona is and how dry her skin is getting. All of a sudden there are women throwing out the names of these products they love and what has worked for them, myself included! Some were even posting links to the product for her to see.

Here are all these women… selling someone elses product for them and getting no commission. HUH?

Yeah, they love whatever product it is so much that they tell other people about it.. for free, with no commission. They tell their friend that this face cream or that lotion is the BEST! I believe most everyone does that or has done that at some point… haven’t you done that?

So why is it that you can’t sell your own products to people in your life?

You may have thought,”well telling them about someone elses stuff is easy because my friends know I”m not making a profit from it.” ..you might have a fear about talking about your own stuff with them but you will gladly direct them to your favorite chiropractor or your favorite restaurant but when it comes to your own product, you shy away from that conversation. Maybe you don’t want to sound all sales-ey or maybe you don’t want to turn off your friends fearing that if you tell them about your products, they won’t want to hang out anymore.

Why is it so easy to sell other peoples products or services and not your own? It could be that you are afraid of being attached.

When you refer people to your awesome chiropractor or tell them about your favorite lotion… you don’t care. You don’t care if they go there or use it or buy that or whatever. You tell them about the thing then don’t have any further expectation. THAT’S THE DIFFERENCE.

When you have a product that you sell, which you love yourself because you are selling it, INTRODUCE it to your friends and family. You can’t be attached to the outcome. I have even said to friends, when I introduce a product, “Hey, I’ll show you this but whether or not you decide to buy it… we are still friends, the decision is yours.”

Your friends don’t buy everything you recommend to them and they may or may not purchase your service or product and that’s ok. You will not be considered a nag if you are telling people about products you love and then let them make the decision. If they say something like.. “oh, I’m happy with my brand” or “I’m not interested in this” then let it go. No matter how great what you have is, not everyone is interested. If they say “that looks interesting, I’d like to know more about it” that’s a great lead in. Follow up with them, don’t expect them to come to you. If they say they are intersted and say they don’t have time right now then just ask them, “When is a good time? When should I contact you about this.. I want to do this on your schedule”. That way it takes all the guessing out of it. There’s no perfect time to “catch” someone so ask them when you should contact them about it again.

Making your friends and family more important than your product is critical. When you follow that rule, you will not run off friends and family and you will introduce some of them to some wonderful products that you have to offer.

Charlotte Salafia

www.designedfordivinedestinations.com

“Where is not just about the destination, but the journey to get there.”

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19 Responses to “How to Sell Your Products to Your Friends and Family”

  1. Valerie Pugliese says on :

    Great article I really neede to hear that. I was at a BINGO party and felt funny putting my catalog in with my gift. Now I need to just let it go.

  2. admin says on :

    Hey Valerie,
    Just for “interests” sake….some people mite not know what a “Bingo” party is….can you explain that! :) )
    JODY

  3. Mackenzie Mccleve says on :

    Noo! Im using my iphone and I cannot seem to be able to access the page right. I will be back to read this later when I get home from school. The title looks like something I need to read.

  4. Tweets that mention How to Sell Your Products to Your Friends and Family | Designed for Divine Destinations -- Topsy.com says on :

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by George Fourie, ValeriePugliese. ValeriePugliese said: RT @tweetmeme How to Sell Your Products to Your Friends and Family http://tinyurl.com/ycbb2gc [...]

  5. Jenn says on :

    Thanks for this post. Probably the best I’ve read on this topic. You’ve explained what I believe to be the best way to approach this and the best attitude to have about selling to friends and family.

    Very well said!
    Thanks,
    Jenn
    Jenn´s last blog ..Sign-up to receive a free quilling lesson right to your email address! My ComLuv Profile

  6. Charlotte says on :

    Thanks Jenn! It’s an honor to assist you with your business.
    Charlotte´s last blog ..You can Join us now on BlogTalkRadio! My ComLuv Profile

  7. working acne treatments says on :

    great article,however i get some trouble in understanding the final paragraph, can you please describe a little bit indepth?

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  13. Kathleen says on :

    Great work. Keep them coming. Kathleen

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  15. Hipolito M. Wiseman says on :

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  16. charlotte seo says on :

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  17. Scar Removal says on :

    Great post, I totally agree. How long have you been blogging for now, I really like the look of your site. Cheers, Scar Removal

  18. Steve says on :

    I don`t think i would sell something to my family, but to my friends…..why not?
    thanks for the tips.
    Steve
    Steve´s last blog ..Mypornblocker review My ComLuv Profile

  19. Jimmy from Resell rights says on :

    Great article and thanks man.

    I would still like to sell it and resell it to customers and businesses rather than friends and family :)

    regards,
    JIMMY
    Jimmy@Resell rights´s last blog ..Custom software application development My ComLuv Profile

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