We may have moved into a more digital landscape … but we’re still human!
The elements that have built relationships for centuries are still important, and relationships are what great salespeople focus on.
I have a winning sales strategy that’s based on the simple, human interaction of one person helping another.
The point of being helpful is to have a satisfied customer, and that’s also the goal of every interaction. This is the framework I use to break it down.
Overall vision: Satisfied customer
Mission: Ensure satisfaction
Strategy: Be empathetic
Tactic: Be patient
Action: Listen
Goal of every interaction: Satisfied customer
The bottom line is to show up, stop thinking about selling, and start thinking about helping.
Being helpful is the foundation of how I sell: it’s about taking a consultative approach.
Prospects can smell your commission breath if they know you’re only trying to pitch them or sell them. They’ll start to feel like a number or a paycheck, rather than a person.
If you jump into talking about the features and benefits of your product, the person who’s new to the product feels overwhelmed. They’re green to your product. You don’t need to tell them about that yet, before you know anything about their situation.
Instead, you need to be patient and listen so that you can be helpful. When you’re helpful, even in the context of selling, people feel heard, and they tell you more about what they need and what pain points they’re facing. That’s how you get to the bottom of whether their needs align with what you can offer.
What if those needs don’t align? It’s OK! The most helpful thing to do is to tell them, and try to leave every interaction with a positive.
Recently, I realized a few minutes into a conversation with a prospect that it wasn’t the right match. Six or seven minutes in, I stopped the conversation and simply said, “It doesn’t seem like we are aligned in what we are both trying to accomplish.”
If I had not left our meeting at that moment, we would both likely have felt frustrated because we wasted time. So, instead, I was helpful by emphasizing that we can still win together.
I told them I’m open to referrals, asked if they knew anyone who may be more inclined to use our product/service, and told them I would compensate them for their efforts. We ended the conversation with something advantageous for us both.
If you look for it, there’s always an advantage to every conversation. You just have to look for it, and that starts by being helpful.
Here’s how to show up in a helpful way. Be:
✅ Reliable
✅ Punctual
✅ Open-minded
✅ Curious
✅ Dependable
Let’s look at each one more closely.
Be Punctual
Being punctual ties closely to being reliable, and it stands as its own topic because there are two schools of thought, particularly now that so many meetings happen digitally.
On one side of the coin, some salespeople will say: get to meetings early. On the other side, some say to get there two to three minutes late and trigger FOMO psychology by saying something like, “So sorry I’m late, I was just closing a deal.”
The idea is that being late because you were closing a deal for someone else will make the person who was waiting for you realize there’s demand for your product.
But what if being late for that reason makes them annoyed that you prioritized someone else? Or makes them doubt you’re telling the truth? Or even makes them leave the meeting before you’ve connected?
I’m firmly on the “show up early” side. Those risks are simply too big, and the benefit of proving again and again that you are reliable is too valuable.
To make sure you stay punctual, let people know at the start of your meeting that you have a hard stop two minutes before the scheduled end, then make sure your follow ups with that person are clear. If you need more time with them, schedule a future meeting right away.
Being helpful as a seller is a way to get to the bottom of whether a prospect is a good fit while honoring both them and you as people.
Are you going to give it a try?
I’d love to hear how it goes! I’m most active on my LinkedIn and am always looking to connect.
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