Okay, okay, maybe relationship building shouldn’t be completely impersonal, but have a read through this recent article and it might make you think more about how you relate to your prospects. Why you might ask? Well, according to the article, it seems that in today’s day and age, business, selling may have significantly more to do with relationship selling - rather than selling your personality.
In other words, worrying about and having your prospects like you may be much less important than establishing a professional relationship which demonstrates that you have a firm grasp on relating to their needs. For instance, some of the best words in the article might be these:
“Don’t fall in love with your prospect, fall in love with the process of learning their business and helping them understand their priorities and initiatives. You know you are too relationship-oriented to a fault when you are unwilling to let go of unqualified prospects with whom you have a great relationship. One question you should always be asking yourself is, if I invest in this relationship what will be my potential return? By the way, your prospects are constantly asking themselves the same question.”
In an age where human interaction is evolving, and technology is literally changing the way we do business on a daily basis, perhaps it’s time to let go of what people think of us and truly focus on relationship selling?
“Today (the nature of selling) has shifted to people buying from people they like, but more importantly, people buying from people they believe understand their business, their problems, their initiatives and their priorities.”
Sure, your own personal flair will likely always be important. Why shouldn’t it be? It’s what makes us unique and what separates us from being a bunch of robots – all doing the exact same thing.
What do you think? Sell the relationship or sell your personality? Let me know your thoughts.
