There’s a big difference between “emotional selling,” and selling emotionally. Selling emotionally means succumbing to our own negative emotions and tendencies. When you find yourself triggered by something your prospect says, try naming the emotion you’re feeling. Feeling frustrated is very different than feeling humiliated. Both require different solutions.
Think about your last few customer calls. When you first met were they excited, glad to speak with you, thrilled to buy—or were they suspicious, frazzled and impatient? If you said the former, I want your job. Truth is, most prospects don’t want to be sold; it’s your job to move them from a negative emotional state to a positive one. This involves creating a structure.
Lately there’s a lot of talk about empathy in business. But empathy alone isn’t enough to build trust, the critical step to grow an organization, land a big deal or cement a relationship. Empathy defined is the ability to put yourself in other person’s shoes. It is understanding and experiencing what another person is feeling.
It happens all the time. You’re lucky enough to land a qualified prospect, you create strong rapport, your customer loves your product, the price is right. There’s just one problem. They need to speak with their brother (or mother, or doctor, or lawyer, or board members) about it. This brother, of course, is vacationing in Italy and can’t be reached. I call this third party “The Ghost in the Room.”
Top salespeople know how to balance heart and sales. They also understand that unless they really know themselves, they’ll never truly connect with their customers—or anyone else, for that matter. They know that what you do matters, but who you are matters more. These universal truths are all about achieving that balance, and more deeply connecting with your authentic self.
