The best salespeople aren't trying to look smart. They're trying to understand.
Good morning, Relentless Fam! Happy Tuesday! ๐ช
Hope you had a great Labor Day weekend.
Here's your challenge this week: Stop trying to impress your customers.
Early in our careers, most of us think the job is proving how much we know. We walk into a meeting and start performing: talking, positioning, selling. Somewhere along the way we convince ourselves that the more we talk, the more value we're delivering.
It's backwards. And it's self-focused.
After almost 20 years in sales, here's what I know for sure: the best salespeople aren't trying to impress anyone. They're trying to understand, and then serve. There's a massive difference between the two.
When you're focused on yourself, your head is full of questions like:
- What should I say next?
- How do I position my product?
- How do I get them to buy?
When you're focused on serving someone, your mindset is focused on different questions:
- What are they actually trying to accomplish?
- What's frustrating them right now?
- What problem are they really trying to solve?
- How can I help them from my organization? Products/Services/Solutions
Curiosity beats self-interest. Every time.
The best salespeople I've been around aren't the loudest voice in the room. They are the MOST curious. They deeply care. They ask great questions, they listen before babbling, and they know you can't solve a problem you don't understand, and you can't understand a problem if you're the one doing all the talking.
Try the 70/30 challenge.
In your next customer meeting, let the customer talk 70% of the time. Ask intentional questions that foster the conversation in a productive way. Listen.
Your customer doesn't need another salesperson trying to impress them. They need someone who actually understands them and, most importantly, can bring real value.
This week: ask better questions, listen a bit longer, understand the real problems at hand (this is key), and then earn the right to offer the solution.
That's not a sales tactic. That's how you live from a place of serving people instead of performing for them. And that's how trust, and great sales relationships, actually get built.
// S T A Y. R E L E N T L E S S //
โJon
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