Episode #112: Principles First Salespeople Win

Having a code in sales is critical. How do we keep an even keel in a profession which is continuously buffeting us with ups and downs? We need a set of guidelines to help us become the trusted partner of our clients. Today we are going explore some human relations principles which will help us do that.

There are thirty human relations principles for helping us all to become friendlier with our clients. We need to build rapport and have the client know, like and trust us. These principles are a great guiding light on how to become very skilled in dealing with all variety of people. These are not tricks. These are fundamental mindset and behavior changes we need to make if we want to be successful with others. Today let’s look at two of those thirty principles.

1. Talk in terms of the other person’s interests

Salespeople have a nasty habit of selective listening and selective conversation around what they want to talk about. Their kokorogamae or intention is centered around their interests and the buyer’s interests are secondary. Sales talk is a misnomer - there is no sales talk. There are well designed questions and there are carefully crafted explanations around solution delivery, which are tightly tied to what the buyer is interested in. Questions uncover interests and with laser beam focus, that is the only thing we talk about.

Sounds simple, but salespeople love to talk, they love the sound of their own voice and they become deaf to the client, often without even realising it. Check yourself during your next client conversation – imagine we were to create a transcript of your words, would they be 100% addressed to the buyer’s interests. If not, then stop blathering and start talking in terms of their interests. By the way, Japanese buyers are rarely uncomfortable with silence, so don’t feel pressured to fill the conversation gaps with pap!

2. Arouse in the other person an eager want

This is not huckster, fake, carnival barker manipulation. This is becoming a great communicator, someone who can arouse passion and enthusiasm in others. Sales is the transfer of enthusiasm, based on the salesperson’s belief in the “righteousness” of doing good, through supplying offerings that really help the buyer and their business.

One of the biggest barriers to success in sales is client inertia. They keep doing what they have always done, in the same way and get the same results. Our job is to shake that equation up and help them to get a better result, through doing something new – buying our product or service.

We have to help them overcome their fears and persuade them to take action. In Japan there is a penalty for action if something fails and less of a penalty associated with inaction, so the bias here is to do nothing. Having a need and taking immediate action are not connected in the client’s mind, until we connect them. We have to fully explain the opportunity cost of no decision, no action or no response to our proposal.

We achieve all of this by using well thought out questions, which lead the buyer to draw the same conclusion that we have come to – that our offering is what they need and that they need it right now. This Socratic method of asking questions works because it helps to clarify the buyer’s own thinking. Most salespeople don’t ask any enough questions, because they are too busy talking about the features of their widget. We can arouse an eager want if we frame the questions well.