What makes you a better salesperson?

2 minutes read

The short answer is learning.  For the long answer you will need to read more…😊

In my previous post (redefining winning) , I argued that we need to redefine “winning a deal” from getting the purchase order, to becoming a better salesperson after each deal regardless of the result.  That is how we can pursue long term-success rather than short- term achievements. And I finished with the question which is the title of this post… what makes you a better salesperson? 

As salespeople, we all have one primary objective of a customer meeting… closing the deal.  I suggest replacing this primary objective with learning; Learning about what really matters to the customer. 

So, I propose shifting your primary objective to learning. And observe if focusing on learning rather than winning would make you lose more deals.  

To put it into practice, you can look for the answers to three questions:

1- What is the customer thinking?

That is a complete exploration and will generate many other questions.  Yet, your customer would not get bothered because it keeps them at the center of the discussion.  It keeps the focus on them.  And in most cases, they are very willing to talk about it.

2- What is the customer feeling?

That one is a little tricky and requires more observation  than questioning.  No matter what they feel, once you identify their feeling it is very important to confirm.  For example, if you see a customer very upset about a situation, you can say “I see that this situation creates a lot of frustration” and let them confirm or contest.  

3- What the customer wants?

Once you know what they think and feel, then  you can learn about what exactly they want beyond your product/service.  This will help you to understand what they value.  For example, a person who wants to buy a car from Mercedes Benz, might be wanting prestige, reliability, comfort, speed, realization of a dream or just a car to go from point A to point B.

Looking for the answers to those questions, will naturally make learning your primary objective.  And it will help you to position yourself as a decision-making partner of your customer, which will lift you above the competition.

The bonus part of this is while applying this method, you can sit back and enjoy watching others (whose primary objective is winning)  struggling with their pitch, explaining how great is their company, product etc.