The Salesperson is The Biggest Differentiator in a Competitive Market

I read a Harvard Business Review article awhile back that emphasized: “as salespeople we must sell ourselves first”, our company second, and only then have we earned the right to present our product. After several tests of this approach – I believe it wholeheartedly!

Prospects want to know who to trust. A salesperson’s ability to earn credibility early is essential to connecting with the prospect. Decision-makers want to focus on how you the salesperson can address their challenges; they’re not interested in any other sales pitch. Your job is to sell enough trust in who you are and what you know about their business to be allowed to engage in a mutual dialogue about their needs in the value you can bring.

The sales environment is completely different in the 21st century:
•decision-makers are reluctant to challenge
•competitors want your prospects business as much as you do.
•Market described with products and services that look the same to the buyer.

In addition, old-time structured, manipulatives sales processes no longer work. These quickly backfire today. That is why a prospect now seeks to find someone they can trust. As the salesperson in this environment, you must be authentic and leverage all your personal assets to win the prospects confidence. This is not going to be done by immediately launching into a product pitch.

Job one today, is to build credibility, show your confidence, integrity, and thought leadership; or the prospect will never become your customer. In the beginning the salesperson must have a greater influence on the customer’s perception of value than in the product being sold. Otherwise, in the prospects mind, he will only be selling a commodity – when that happens - it’s about price, value is forgotten.