EMPATHY IN SALES

"The best salespeople are the ones who realize the incredible power of empathy and can understand the other party without them explicitly stating it" - Gary Vaynerchuk

In the ever changing and challenging sales profession, the performance of the sales person will help him sail through every month and year. Every sales person has to work hard as ever every single day, be focused, self-driven, motivated, and have the other required skills to be on the top of the game.

We have hundreds of companies in the business of ‘Sales training” and many corporates spend a fortune every year to get their sales force to the next level and deliver a higher level of performance. I, myself had the fortune of attending such trainings in my sales career. Many skills have been taught on the communication, sales process, negotiations etc.

If there is one powerful skill not generally taught and learnt more in the “real world” with experience, it is EMPATHY. Empathy is an emotional intelligence skill, defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. The first step to EMPATHY is to see the world from the customer’s perspective and if your product or solution will benefit them.

PUTTING yourself in his shoes is a good way to actually feel and understand his perspective whether he really needs your product or solution. It is a tradition in INDIA to leave shoes outside the shop or office in some towns and in some business communities. Every time I leave my shoes outside, it reminds me to “think of putting myself in the customer’s shoes”. A great practical lesson learnt.

Once we step in, what questions or concerns does he have in his business or what are the challenges he is facing currently. Especially in the current challenging times of the PANDEMIC, whether an investment in your new product will benefit him or will put him into difficulty is the question you need to ask yourself. Yes, we all need to succeed in selling, but are we doing this at the cost of his interest. We may still win the sale, but will lose the customer forever. He would share this with 10 more prospects and the result is you will not be trusted.

During your next sales conversation, you’ll still need to apply your tried and true hard selling skills. They are all important as before. But to elevate your thinking and establish a meaningful relationship, begin incorporating EMPATHY as a most essential skill. Look at things through your customer’s eyes, pay attention to their communication style, the words they use and the concerns they share. By doing so, you will strengthen your emotional connection and develop an even deeper understanding of the situation. And be able to provide the right advice or solution.

With EMPATHY at the core, build a relationship based on trust, understanding, mutual benefits and the long term interest of the customer. You will always have an enriching experience, stronger customer relationships, satisfaction in guiding customers the right way which will ultimately resulting in your sales success, transformation in business and a rewarding career.