Disrupting customers to make a sale is a strategy that’s decayed over a very short amount of time. Cold calls rarely work and, when they do, it’s not worth the cost. We’ve outlined 10 ways to turn your disruptive sales tactics into digital handshakes.

1. Stop selling: I know this doesn’t sound very proactive, but hear me out. There’s a reason people are hesitant to step onto a car lot or into a cell phone store. They feel overwhelmed by the feeling of “buy, buy, buy!” And, unless Justin Timberlake is involved, it can turn a decision to purchase into a decision to leave. Nobody likes being forced into buying things. Instead, identify your customer’s questions, challenges, pain points and concerns before you try to make a sale. You can collect this data via past customers, research and even employee experiences.
   
2. Blogs: This is how you identify those customer concerns. Blogs are a great way to educate prospects and answer questions. And, according to an article from AdWeek , a whopping 81% of shoppers conduct research before they even walk into a store. They’re looking for product reviews, comparing prices and reading about product information. Let your blog be the resource they need.
3. Case Studies: These are great because they tie together multiple consumer research points into one package. This detailed review tells the story of how you or your product helped a customer from start to finish. Nothing is left in the dark, and that can build a lot of trust amongst your prospects. 
4. Incentives for referrals: First off, are you actually asking for referrals? Sometimes that’s enough…and sometimes it’s not. Asking is the easiest, yes, but why not give your customers another reason to share their experience? In other words, what’s in it for them? They’ve already given you their money after all. Discounts, vouchers and freebies don’t hurt. Referrals are one of the most successful ways of gaining new customers, so offering an occasional discount is definitely worth the gain.
5. Networking: Break out of your shell and start talking to real people! There are always free events that cater to your specific field of work, and they offer a great opportunity to introduce yourself.
6. Personable emails: The difference between “Hi John” and “To whom it may concern” plays a world of difference. Just by adding a name, it sound like you actually want to reach John, and not just anyone who’s willing to open the email.
7. Social media: It doesn’t get less disruptive than Facebook. Especially when a ⅓ of the global population actively uses it. Social media gives you the opportunity to reach out to people on a large scale, lets you offer your great content and lead people to your website.
8. Lead Nurturing: This is all about reaching out to people who want to be reached. For example, if a prospect downloads one of your awesome case studies, you gain the opportunity to follow up with more related content. Through this process of downloads, otherwise known as the Inbound Marketing Methodology , you can nurture your client into a happy and willing customer.
9. Staying on top of reviews: Remember that bit about customers doing research before they buy? Reviews are a huge part of that. I cannot emphasize that enough – but I’ll try. According to statistics from Marketing Land, 90% of consumers say positive reviews influence their purchase decision. Whether you don’t have enough or have too many bad ones, there are ways to manage online reviews. Not only do good reviews draw in more customers, but they improve your SEO and the online reputation of your business.
10. Listen: It all comes around full circle. Until you can learn to listen to your customers, you’ll have difficulties knowing their pain points. That’s what insulating your business from disruption is all about. Instead of trying to push your product or service, let the customers sell themselves to you. This is selling tactic #1 for the modern businessman.