“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate.”
Albert Schweitzer
In today's business climate where many of us are operating with fear, anxiety and doubt; those that lead with an empathetic heart stand out.
Empathy is defined by Psychology Today as “the visceral experience of another person’s thoughts and feelings from his or her point of view, rather than from one’s own.”
It's mission critical to understand the true value of long-term relationships.
I believe genuine, real and raw empathy cannot be faked. If you're saying or doing something merely to check a box and to appear more involved or compassionate, you’ll lose out in the long run.
The time is now to truly connect
Connections and relationships matter way beyond what we traditionally believe. As humans, we seek to connect in order to find meaning. We crave a sense of belonging. Social networks and digital channels allow us to connect at hyper warp speeds, but it's the one to one human connection that's becoming more valuable than ever.
A deep meaningful relationship takes passion, purpose and patience. This does not happen overnight, in a week or in a month.
When we embrace ourselves first, when we can work on ourselves first and find fulfillment within ourselves, then we are able to open-up for a deep, meaningful relationship.
It's difficult to bring the best version of ourselves to the forefront if our hearts are broken and not healthy.
Lead with your heart and not your wallet
OUTSTANDING EXPERIENCES, RAISES THE RELATIONSHIP
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 at this very moment?
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. Watch what happens to the relationship.
What truly makes for a good experience? Is it speed, convenience, consistency and friendliness? I believe great customer experience leaves people feeling heard and appreciated. It's bringing the human heartfelt emotions to your customers.
Right now, at this very moment, how many of you are tugging on the heartstrings of your customers?
I ask you to think about the following questions...
- What promises are you making to your customers?
- What promises do your customers truly value?
- What promise have you made to yourself to build the relationship?
EMPATHETIC RELATIONSHIPS START WITH THE HEART
Turn to your heart. In sales, heart is ignored. “Heart-based” sounds "touchy-feely". Heart-based sounds weak and not cool.
How can heart matter when competitors are making each sale more challenging than the last one?
A servant, caring and compassionate professional lives and leads with their heart. Heart is about place and comfort. They're in a place to make a difference. This shows and is exhibited in how they care for their clients. By living and leading with their heart, they create meaningful and unbreakable sales bonds that last a lifetime.
Heartfelt professionals are leaders: they build relationships, cast vision, and motivate people to act.
Open the cage and let your heart roam free with your client relationships.
OOZE AUTHENTICITY
Authenticity is one of the biggest challenges for many in a profession riddled with scrupulous, fake and disingenuous sales reps; that quite frankly many buyers despise them. However, authenticity separates a sales rep from sales professional, and this is what your clients want!
It's about moving from being viewed as untrustworthy to being viewed as authentic and genuine. Yes, you must become a bit vulnerable with yourself as this is where it starts. In order to build relationships and change the way people think, you need to understand who you are and what goods you bring to the table.
Authenticity requires self-knowledge and self-awareness. Accept your strengths and weaknesses. Hold yourself accountable to you. Connect to your client's values and desires.
Plain and simple, at the core of a Selling from the Heart lies one word... CARE!
Building rock solid, deep and meaningful relationships is about one thing... giving a rip.
HEART DOES MATTER
Heart is a place where one develops and gains strength. Those that embrace their heart will grow in purpose, profit and impact. Those that embrace heart will strengthen their client relationships with many stakeholders, producing long-lasting results.
I'm here to tell you that your clients crave a genuine, authentic, real-deal and Selling From the Heart professional. I urge all of you to lead a sales life full of authenticity and integrity rather than the pursuit of lining your sales wallet.
"Actions speak louder than words when serving with the heart"
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, kindle and in audio. 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, Facebook and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.
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