In this 3 minute interview Ian Lowe talks with John Smibert about how the leading salespeople build trust.
In order to help all salespeople learn from the "stratospherically successful salespeople" I asked Ian what they do differently.
Ian's said what they always do "is create value for the people they meet. It doesn't exist in the context of a sales interaction. It's a life skill as much as it is a sales skill".
Ian is the CEO of Go-Givers Australia. He is an expert in sales transformation and a specialist in why people sell.
See more of the 'TALKING SALES' series here
Interview
John: Welcome back! I'm with Ian Lowe again. Ian's the CEO of Go-Givers Australia, he's an expert in sales transformation, and he's a specialist in helping us learn why we're selling versus the how. Welcome back, Ian!
Ian: Pleasure to be here, John!
John: Ian, last time we discussed purpose versus process and we talked about how they need to be aligned. I'm really interested in what the great salespeople do around purpose and how they drive the value for the clients. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Ian: Well, I think the stratospherically successful salespeople out there - you know, the real high performers - understand the golden rule of business, what our founder, Bob Burg, calls the golden rule of business.
John: Right, and that is?
Ian: The golden rule is that all things being equal people will refer business to - and do business with - those people they know, like and trust.
John: The trusted advisor type.
Ian: Absolutely.
John: So, to become a trusted advisor - to be able to do that - what are the sort of things do the great salespeople put in place?
Ian: Well, I think they understand that value isn't something that purely exists in the context of a transaction. You know, these great performers in business, in sales, in networking understand that you can't always end up having a sale being the end of the conversation. But what you can always do is create value for the people you meet. It doesn't exist in the context of a sales interaction. It's a life skill as much as it is a sales skill.
They spread their value broadly, the people they meet experience their value and they become advocates for that person. You know, we have this idea of creating an army of personal walking ambassadors, and you do that by touching people's lives with the value you create, even in small ways. You make that as part of the way you operate in life and not just in business.
John: Every time you interact with somebody.
Ian: Absolutely, that's part of what it is.
John: So, if I bring that back to a sales context it means that as I'm going through my sales process and meeting with my client, it means every time I should be looking at how I create value for that client, irrespective of my product or service or anything else.
Ian: Again, you've nailed it John!
John: Thank you very much! That's a great message and I appreciate it - I look forward to talking to you next time!
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See more of the 'TALKING SALES' series here
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