A Selling From The Heart Professional Redefines The Client Experience... Are You?
Larry Levine
In a world of empty suits, I’m leading a movement of authenticity, integrity, and trust inside the sales profession
"Empathy is about standing in someone else's shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place."
Daniel H. Pink
Unfortunately, one huge and costly mistake many in sales make with their customers is breaking promises.
You're probably breaking promises to your customers far more often than you think. What experience is this creating? How are you making them feel? Without their willingness to tell you every single time you break a promise, how do you know?
Continue to break promises, even the small ones, and watch what happens to customer loyalty
Way too many in sales treat their customers like widgets on an assembly line. What's worse is management and ownership have fostered the environment.
What concerns me is how many move their customers along, take their hard earned business dollars and then move onto the next conquest. They reel them in with flashy sales crapola and tons of hype and then leave them less than satisfied with their overall experience.
Lead with your heart and not your wallet
I ask you to think about the following questions...
- What promises are you making to your customers?
- What promises do your customers truly value?
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE
According to a recent in-depth Frost & Sullivan survey, 80% of customers base their choice of provider on Customer Experience. It has become the single-most important differentiator in making or breaking a brand.
"The need for personalized, relevant experiences are not only raising customer expectations, but making them more difficult to please."
You may or may not agree with me and it's quite alright... I believe all those in sales are in the memory and experience business.
The question I have for you is...
What kind of memories and experiences are you creating for your customers?
Within the sea of sameness and mediocrity that exists inside the sales world, the customer experience does matter. Get it right and watch what happens to trust, loyalty and consistent repeat business.
What truly makes for a good experience? Is it speed, convenience, consistency and friendliness? I believe that a great customer experience leaves people feeling heard and appreciated. It's bringing the human heartfelt emotions to your customers.
How many of you are tugging on the heartstrings of your customers?
THE HEART MATTERS
A selling from the heart sales professional realizes a heartfelt connection leads to a heartfelt conversation which leads to a heartfelt relationship that in turn, creates memories and experiences.
Redefine the customer experience by getting to their heart. I get it, we live and operate in a fast-paced business world. The onslaught of technology has provided salespeople with new ways of communicating with their customers, however; it places a damper on the personal interaction and one's natural ability to interact and listen with their hearts.
“We hear through our ears, but we listen through our minds.â€
Listening with your heart means giving your full attention to your customers. Allow them to express their feelings, their concerns and their issues in a way that is heard and understood.
I urge you to create those listening experiences.
A SERVANT MINDSET REDEFINES THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Honoring your heart is not a sign of weakness. True power resides with listening to your 'gut' and finding it within your heart by making a commitment to clear all that stands in the way of a heartfelt connection and experience.
Sharing your knowledge redefines the experience and is not a sign of weakness. Focus in on how you can help your customers. Sharing your insights and what you can do for others rather than for yourself, redefines the customer experience. I guarantee no one likes a know-it all, self-centered and stereo-typical sales rep... This does not build followership nor create positive experiences or memories.
A heartfelt sales professional brings a servant mindset to their customers.
- They make themselves available to serve
- They pay close attention to their customers
- They have compassion for their customers
- They truly care about their customers
- They know what it means to be faithful and trustworthy
Adopting a servant leadership mindset takes a conscious effort by learning and committing to develop self-effectiveness. Get to the heart of what matters! Experiences do matter.
- I want to please YOU
- I want to make YOU feel special
- Making YOU happy is not my job, it is my purpose!
YOU ARE THE EXPERIENCE
It doesn't take a lot for you to go the extra mile. You just have to show you care! This is the core foundation of what it means to sell from the heart. It's about bringing the human approach to your customers. It's what’s important to them!
I promise you this... Your customers are willing to pay for the experience. Go no further than Starbucks! What's the difference between a cup of coffee from Starbucks and that of a competitor? Simple, the experience.
What are you bringing to the business table to differentiate you from the competition?
Attention to all those in sales... You are the experience!
I know all of you want to maximize profit and increase your sales business. However, how do you do this when most of you walk, talk and act the same?
You must be prepared to provide the white glove, heartfelt and servant experience.
I will leave you with this...
Are you creating the Disneyland experience?
I understand, I get where you all are coming from. Every day, I walk in your shoes. I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social aspects and modern strategies into your current sales process to grow new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way, the genuine way, the authentic way! It's about understanding value before visibility.
Selling From the Heart is making a difference! I poured my heart into every page of this book and I think you're going to love it. You can find it on Amazon in paperback and Kindle. You can click on the book image below and this will take you to Amazon.
You can find more material inside Selling From The Heart.
In a world full of empty suits, I'm passionate about helping sales reps succeed by getting valuable before they get visible. I help sales teams understand the true value they bring to the market.
I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my stories. Integrating the use of social and sharing my story on LinkedIn was my “game-changer†in the highly competitive office technology world. With great pride I transform, challenge, coach and inspire sales teams to grow new business by helping them share their story and how they communicate it out by integrating the use of social inside the sales process. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.
Making Moments Matter
5yLarry, this is fantastic! I feel like this is precisely what I speak of all the time, when I'm asked "Why hospitality?". It's that amazing feeling of being the "go-to", the person that's entrusted with helping make an impactful decision, a decision that provides an unforgettable experience in one's life. This is true in every industry, as all rely on the sale of a product or service, but all in experience. Kudos to writing this book!
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5yI love the concept of experience and how you have referenced Starbucks. I find now more than ever, the experience we provide is to some extent more important than the solution we offer. It's a key way in which we differentiate our offering.
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5yOooh, a subject close to my heart, The Client Experience. You 'rocked my boat' with this one. My favorite statement was 'A Servant Mindset Redefines The Customer Experience.'Â I love the insights of the four statements to show how to make this happen. So easy to implement yet often not done. I believe every salesperson should pretend that every client they interact with is wearing a sign that says: 'Make me feel important.' When you commit to this simple direction, you become the 'Experience.'
The Ally Methodâ„¢: The Science of Alliance - Going Further, Faster for Longer Together
5yWe’re in business because of the customer not in spite of them. Our role is to serve. Service is NOT servitude. We have to establish and maintain equal business stature with our customers. If we fail to establish clear expectations or boundaries we only have ourself to blame when the lines are crossed or expectations not met. Too often bad selling behaviours are driven by our needs. Our need to hit quota caused by our lack of planning, lack of prospecting, previous discounts. Our need to be liked or approved of. Our need to impress. Our failure to establish a clear up front contract. A rush to present before diagnosing a fit. These result in selfish behaviours on our part and they break trust.