Forget about the quick sell, says Sunita Gill, talent development advisor and sales expert at Dale Carnegie. Instead, use her tips to make personal, emotional connections with your prospects.
Eighty-seven percent of business buyers expect sales reps to act as trusted advisors, according to the 2023 State of Sales report.
Build trust; close the deal. That’s how relationship selling works. Trust leads to loyalty, and loyal customers spread the word, keep buying over time, and spend more money when they do.
The problem: During my time at Dale Carnegie, I’ve seen too many reps fumble relationships — or not even think about them — because they’re so focused on making a quick sale. Here are four tips that can help.
4 tips that support relationship selling
The goal of relationship selling is to create the feelings that build trust. First, customers need to feel you have their best interests at heart. Second, they have to believe you know what you’re talking about. This kind of trust is only possible when you forget about the quick sale, ask powerful questions, establish credibility, and play the long game. Let’s take a closer look.
1. Forget about the quick sale
One in four customers said trusting a sales rep means feeling that “they are looking out for my best interest and providing value,” according to a Dale Carnegie survey of 1,600 customers.
Rather than pushing the customer to buy a solution, we have to listen intently to understand their real needs, and build a relationship that earns us the right to keep talking. Sometimes that means we recommend another vendor who can better help them. Other times, we might not even mention our product at all.
A few years ago, I connected with a prospect on Zoom for an initial sales meeting. I asked how she was doing. “Good.” Then I paused and leaned in, as if to silently prompt, “No really. How are you doing?”
Sunita Gill
Talent Development Advisor and sales expert, Dale Carnegie
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