In sales, there’s a delicate dance between serving your clients and making those crucial sales. It’s like walking a tightrope, where leaning too far to one side might mean losing sight of your ultimate goal. How do you provide genuine service while keeping your eye on the prize? Let’s dive into the art of balancing service with sales, ensuring authenticity and success in your sales career.
The Servant-Seller Dilemma
Imagine this: you’re passionate about what you’re selling, believing in its ability to change lives. You want to serve your clients, guiding them towards making the best choice for their needs. But at the same time, you have targets to hit, bills to pay. This internal struggle between wanting to serve without coming across as “just another salesperson” can be challenging. You’re not alone in feeling this way. Many in the sales world grapple with maintaining this delicate balance every day.
Understanding the Balance
Finding equilibrium doesn’t mean compromising your values for the sake of a sale. It’s about harmonizing your intentions to serve with the goals of selling. Insight from sales coach Liz Wendling shines a light on this path. She emphasizes focusing on client needs, engaging in genuine conversations, and exploring how your product or service can make a difference in their lives. It’s not about manipulating but aligning your product’s benefits with what your client genuinely needs.
Practical Strategies to Maintain the Balance
- Ask More, Tell Less: Dive deep into understanding your client’s world. Your role is to discover their needs, not to dominate the conversation.
- Serve With Insight: Offer solutions based on your findings, tailored to address their specific challenges. Demonstrate how your product or service genuinely fits their unique context.
- Follow-Up with Purpose: When you follow up, make it meaningful. Refer back to specific points from your previous conversation, showing you were genuinely listening and care about providing value.
Language Matters – Shifting From ‘I’ to ‘You’
Language plays a pivotal role in shifting the focus from selling to serving. Wendling cautions against phrases that start with “I would love to…” as they can come across as self-serving. Instead, rephrase your conversations to focus on the client. For example, instead of saying, “I would love to show you our product,” try “You might find [this product] beneficial because it addresses [specific need].” This subtle shift puts the spotlight on the client and how they stand to benefit.
Takeaway
Navigating the fine line between serving and selling doesn’t have to be daunting. By genuinely focusing on your clients’ needs, engaging them in meaningful conversations, and employing client-centric language, you can maintain this crucial balance. Remember, the heart of sales is not about pushing products but about creating value for your clients.
Check out the podcast episode in Sales Made Easy with Liz Wendling here.
