Selling is often considered an art form. It takes no less than the most fine-tuned of inter-personal skills and a precise focus on value.
But value is in the eye of a beholder, and to truly sell (I’m told) requires the innate skill to first empathize with a customer’s needs… and then at the perfect moment deliver an optimal solution to their largest problem.
Sales mastery in action
I’ve been lucky enough to witness sales mastery on a few occasions. It was indeed like watching an artist, with a few commonalities:
- First the groundwork is laid, maybe an initial joke leading quickly to a personal connection
- Next a mutual commiseration of shared problems and struggles
- Then the soft touch of a potential solution, delivered ever so delicately at the opportune time
- And lastly, the close. With the swiftness of a cheetah that somehow leaves the antelope feeling like it won
The ruin of a sale
Someone tried to sell me something today – and it felt all wrong. It simply wasn’t an enjoyable experience.
This bugged me because I was the perfect customer. In fact, not only did I deeply identify with the problem, I had sought out my own solution – which the service I was being sold solved perfectly!. To top it of, the service was FREE and delivered to me on a silver plate.
What was my deal? I had a problem that I unsuccessfully tried to solve myself but couldn’t, and someone was offering me a perfect free solution.
So why did I walk away feeling like a snake charmer just tried to scam me?
Because there was no trust. No groundwork was laid – it was straight to the sell.
The art of trust
Many sales acronyms exist. There’s DIPADA, DMAIC, among others. They’re mostly similar: Identify the problem, present a tailored solution, and close the deal. Some include smaller interim steps such as identifying the key stakeholder and creating time sensitivity – but the main topics remain the same.
What typically isn’t included in a sales process? BUILDING TRUST. Yet developing trust through a true customer connection is the most important element of selling.
Unsurprisingly how to quickly develop a trusting relationship is the most difficult step to teach. Much like delivering a pick-up line… it’s largely an innate ability.
It may involve a simple friendly smile, sharing a story, or keeping a promise. While the tactics may differ, the results are the same.
One of my heros Rand puts it well:
“Best way to sell something:
Don’t sell anything.
Earn the awareness, respect, and trust of those who might buy.”
So the next time you’re selling (we’re all selling something), think for a moment about the personal connection you’ll need to make to build a sale. Without laying the groundwork of trust, you risk coming across as an insincere salesperson to even your most opportune customer.
About Andy Shannon
