Stop “Selling” and Start Building Relationships

When offering sales and marketing support to our expansion stage portfolio companies, our sales leaders offer many questions around sales techniques, tricks, or methodologies that can be used.  We have all probably read the books and been educated by the “sales geniuses” offering “ABC–Always be closing”, “a few new techniques will boost your sales”, or “think positive and overcome your fears of interaction”. These are generally old-school teachers and do not lead to new thinking.

I came across a great article from Ari Galper titled 7 Ways to Stop “Selling” and Start Building Relationships. It really speaks well to the “New Thinking”.

Here is the intro….

New Thinking = New Results

Maybe it’s time to take a different approach. Maybe we need to seriously analyze our sales thinking so we can identify why we’re not making more sales. Take a look at the table below and think about your current selling mindset. How would your selling behaviors change if you changed your sales thinking?

Traditional Sales Mindset: Always deliver a strong sales pitch.
New Sales Mindset: Stop the sales pitch — and start a conversation.

Traditional Sales Mindset: Your central objective is always to close the sale.
New Sales Mindset: Your central goal is always to discover whether you and your potential client are a good fit.

Traditional Sales Mindset: When you lose a sale, it’s usually at the end of the sales process.
New Sales Mindset: When you lose a sale, it’s usually right at the beginning of the sales process.

Traditional Sales Mindset: Rejection is a normal part of selling.
New Sales Mindset: Sales pressure is the only cause of rejection. Rejection should never happen.

Traditional Sales Mindset: Keep chasing every potential client until you get a yes or a no.
New Sales Mindset: Never chase a potential client — you’ll only trigger more sales pressure.

Traditional Sales Mindset: When a prospect offers objections, challenge and/or counter them.
New Sales Mindset: When a potential client offers objections, uncover the truth behind them.

Traditional Sales Mindset: If a potential client challenges the value of your product or service, you must defend yourself and explain the value.
New Sales Mindset: Never defend yourself or what you have to offer — it only creates more sales pressure.

The article link provided above goes on to explain each….good reading and learning!!