Belief and Integrity Essential For Sales Success
Here is how I define Relationship Selling: Building relationships of genuine rapport and trust for a buying decision in the best interests of all concerned. The sale is achieved through the transference of belief and the delivery of tangible value supported logically with facts and evidence.
Tony Robbins defines selling as simply changing someone’s emotional state. He’s right because at the most basic level selling is the transference of belief; beliefs create emotion, and emotions drive decisions. We then appear to make rational decisions by justifying with facts and logic.
Enduring success in the sales profession is built on belief in yourself, your solution and the corporation you represent. But without sincere belief and integrity in your sales process and their buying process, trust cannot be established and maintained with both sides. Shallow attempts to manipulate another person’s emotions simply destroy trust.
Sales process integrity means being committed to a methodology for truly understanding what will make the buyer completely satisfied and establishing whether there is mutual benefit in doing business together. In this paradigm the sales person never asks for the business prematurely or makes wrong assumptions concerning the real value of features or functions.
High achievers project sincere belief in what they offer through listening and offering insights though questions. They focus almost exclusively on the customer. Although they are self-aware they are not self-absorbed. They understand the maxim that ‘nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care’. They genuinely convey that they are not there to sell (talk and push) but to fully understand the problems and needs of the prospective client.
They want to hear what the client has to say. They want to know what’s going on in the client’s world. They want to understand the client’s issues and how to best deliver specific business value for them. They achieve results through a values-based approach to building trust and solving problems.
There is no room for trickery and gimmicks in selling today because we all sell naked – that’s what Social Selling 3.0 is, it’s beyond the professional façade and a business card. It’s real-time context and transparent proximity to a credible network. Focus on what you and your company believes before you talk about the product or service you offer. This is how to attracted customers through alignment of values. Remember, beliefs create emotion and emotions move people to act.
If you valued this article, please hit the ‘like' button and also share via your Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook social media platforms. I encourage you to join the conversation or ask questions so feel free to add a comment on this post. Please follow my LinkedIn post page for all my articles.
Photo by: Ken Teegardin
Chief Marketing Officer at JG King Homes
10 年Great piece. Great attempt to encapsulate complicated subject matter. Underpinning what you have said I believe is Emotional Intelligence. Ultimately all stakeholders need to be on the same page and belief is critical. Emotionally we are not even aware the cues we exhibit that in essence portray our belief in the proposition. Like all cases if we have the right product at the right price, supported by the right channel strategy and integrated marketing comms this all becomes simpler. Obviously this comes with a clear understanding of positioning, who the target market is within the competitive environment. At the centre of this is the customer who decides to buy;)
Career Highlights: Manager/VP of Marketing * Individual Contributor in Business Development & Marcomm * Excellent References * High Productivity & Business Value
10 年Whether you are selling through marketing tactics or via a salesperson, you must enjoy the interpersonal communication experience that involves education. Some want less; some want more. Every prospect is different, and the art is knowing how to adjust and respond your communications in ways that appeal to your prospect--instead of a standard script or a canned response. Those may be helpful in the beginning stage of learning a company's best practices, but not typically after you understand the content and salient points to deliver more fluidly with the prospect.
Advisor - Strategist - Director
10 年good points all. John
B̶u̶s̶i̶n̶e̶s̶s̶ O̶w̶n̶e̶r̶ | Bus Driver
10 年"High achievers... genuinely convey that they are not there to sell (talk and push) but to fully understand the problems and needs of the prospective client." Some understand this concept in a face-to-face context, but few (yet) understand how to convey such 'client empathy' online. And yet understand we must (and evolve accordingly). For increasingly our potential clients are completing supplier due diligence online without any deliberate interaction with us. That's the power of the buyer in the Digital Age!
President @ Parrish Security Group | Security Management Expert
10 年No Gimmicks in Selling. Right on the money.