To sell is human because meaningful connection, service – love is human.\u00a0 Love is not primarily a feeling.\u00a0 Love in its most powerful form is a verb, it is active.\u00a0 To love someone is to take loving actions toward them, to serve, to honor, to anticipate need, to put the object of adoration before oneself and to love in their language.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course unrequited loving action is not sustainable so a loving relationship requires this sort of action on both sides.\u00a0 One-upmanship, self-centeredness, co-dependance, oblivion, manipulation, win \/ loose negotiation are common elements to the individual pursuit of happiness.\u00a0 A selfish tact may lead to some temporary wins, some moments of pleasure, but in the end adds up to a shallow existence. Meaningful relationships, enduring relationships can only be forged when two people put the other\u2019s needs, wants and desires ahead of their own. \u00a0 In so doing, both parties’ needs are met in a profound and interconnected way.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To sell is human because love is human.\u00a0 While there are certainly a lot of differences between a personal, romantic, family or friendly relationship and a business relationships, the parallels are profound.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Discovery<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Think of the attention and obsession that goes into the early stages of a romantic relationship.\u00a0 I\u2019m talking about the time before it is clear that there is a mutual interest.\u00a0 The amount of energy that goes into the interpretation of cues is ridiculous, analyzing every glance, every comment, every incidental trace of physical contact. The little things are rich with data.\u00a0 Curiosity is the key to connection.\u00a0 When the early chemistry is right this curiosity leads to a rich two way discovery process.\u00a0 \u201cHey baby, let me tell you all about me\u201d will only work with the codependent and insecure.\u00a0 A healthy loving modus operandi is to go first and throw oneself headlong into a selfless discovery process.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prospecting stage of sales is really no different. So many times sales people go to market like some cheesy douche – \u201chey baby, like my car? Let\u2019s go back to my place.\u201d Totally objectifying the prospect, looking for a client that will meet carnal financial or sales quota needs. \u201cWhat is your current rate? I\u2019ll beat it.\u201d Any customer worth their salt will reject this type of an approach. You might pick up some business this way, but is it really wise to marry your career to this type of a cheap transactional relationship? <\/p>\n\n\n\n The discovery deepens in a healthy business relationship as you move into what resembles the dating phase. While everyone tends to put their best selves forward during this time, it is critical to be open during this time because this is where the foundational rules of engagement and expectations for the relationship are being established. The customer is observing you, the sales person, to assess whether you are relationship material, willing and able to do what you say you will do when you say they will do it. Every email, every appointment, every small commitment matters. There is no room for error in this phase for the sales driver, you better be on your game because it is easy for your prospect to cut and run at this point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tying the knot<\/strong> The most obvious and moronic misstep at this point is for the sales person to disappear and completely outsource service to the delivery team. I have been on the customer side of this a few times. A suave sales person breaks through, makes a connection, sells a vision of what our work life will be like together and then after I sign they don\u2019t call\u2026..they don\u2019t write. They make the sale and then set sail. I thought we had something but I\u2019m left ruminating over the revelation that it was just a cheap passing fling. I know some companies almost require this, but don\u2019t you do it, it is not service and it certainly is not love. I am not saying a sales person should \u201chug\u201d their business, but they do need to be extremely dialed into the customer\u2019s needs, emotions and perception during the integration of the delivery team. You are who they did the deal with, be present! <\/p>\n\n\n\n The engaged sales person will notice the new commitment level raises the stakes in the relationship. As the inevitable early mishaps and mistakes arise, they are critical testing points for your fledgling partnership. This is your opportunity. Good times don\u2019t make great relationships, difficult times do. That is if they are handled well. Now is the time to test your meddle as a partner. Problem solving is your time to shine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Long Run<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been said that the opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference. Just as most marriages die from apathy, most business deals die from indifference. Any long-term relationship must be tended to and regularly reinvented or it will rot. In time the newness and passion fades and those cute quirky traits and nuanced needs become a nuisance. Your client\u2019s business is constantly evolving and their needs are changing but you\u2019ve stopped paying attention. You\u2019ve lost your curiosity and passion. They are starting to resent you for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The thing is, your customer still has all those attractive attributes that drew you to them in the first place, you just can\u2019t see them anymore. Be assured, there are suitors who are completely dialed in, listening, bringing new ideas and passion to make a play for your customer. They are certainly pointing out your lack of attention and fomenting feelings of discontent. But you didn\u2019t know that \u201cthey like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain\u201d because you stopped paying attention. There is nothing more tragic than a relationship that dies from apathy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The discovery process never ends. Don\u2019t assume you know what is going on just because you have been working with a customer for a long time, we must stay curious. When was the last time you showed your work or brought a new idea to your long-term client? Sometimes serving your clients means respectfully challenging them or demonstrating tough love, Other times it means taking the high road and overlooking an offence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To Sell Well is to Love Well<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n How would it feel to approach sales in this way?\u00a0 Enduring relationships are rare and bring richness to life.\u00a0 To sell is human and humane.\u00a0 Certainly success will follow anyone who goes to market with this mindset.\u00a0 To sell well is to love well.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To sell is human because meaningful connection, service – love is human.\u00a0 Love is not primarily a feeling.\u00a0 Love in its most powerful form is a verb, it is active.\u00a0 To love someone is to take loving actions toward them, to serve, to honor, to anticipate need, to put the object of adoration before oneself […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[39,43,44],"class_list":["post-167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leadership-business","tag-creativity-humanity","tag-persuasion-sales","tag-to-sell-is-human"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jpweaverjr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jpweaverjr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jpweaverjr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jpweaverjr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jpweaverjr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jpweaverjr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":168,"href":"https:\/\/jpweaverjr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167\/revisions\/168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jpweaverjr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jpweaverjr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jpweaverjr.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/strong>We want the customer and they want to do business with us, we negotiate terms and tie the knot.\u00a0 If we have done a diligent job in the discovery process, the early days of our matrimony should be similar to a honeymoon.\u00a0 Everything is new, everyone is on their best behavior and there might even be an appreciation for our new partner\u2019s quirky traits and nuanced needs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n