When Bryan Neale and I concluded a webinar recently (with nearly 400 awesome people on), we always chat a bit to see what we learned.
The one thing that stuck in my head is how many of us are still thinking about selling with the OLD glasses on – the old paradigm. What I mean is that we tend to look at selling through the, “what-do-we-need-to-say-to-get-a-customer-to-buy-from-us” glasses.
And that’s so 1990, yet we still do it.
It’s like putting on a nice shirt that fits us perfectly – yet it was styled 10 years ago. Ah… it feels soooo good and we’re nostalgic about how we looked in it – but now, it makes us look old and out-of-touch.
So, What is the New Paradigm of Selling?
A quick review:
- You MUST create compelling reasons for the customer to reach out to you. And when they do, you are in control of the process. You do this by creating solid value BEFORE they buy.
- You are explicit in how you communicate the value you bring. No more allowing your customer (or your competitor) to define the game. You must connect the dots between their problem and your solution. They won’t do it — so you must.
- You are constantly building your personal brand. You NEVER leave it up to your company do the heavy lifting. If you’re in B2B today, you DO have a brand. But are you crafting it intentionally?
- You MUST help the customer ‘read the numbers.’ Meaning, are you helping them see/understand the economics of their decision? Are you working through the numbers WITH them, not AT them?
As you go about your business over the next six months and as the economy opens up, we want you to think about your relationship with the new paradigm of selling. Although we haven’t called it that specifically, that’s what we’ve been attempting to do on every episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast: To change the game of selling so that you, the salesperson, is empowered and in control of your own destiny.
It really is a simple question: Will you continue to exist under the old paradigm or will you embrace the new one?
On The Advanced Selling Podcast, our aim is to help you re-think selling. Tune in and, together, let’s give the power BACK to the sales person.
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