“The keys to brand success are self-definition, transparency, authenticity and accountability.”
Simon Mainwaring
Transparency reveals your character. Transparency is all about intentionally sharing your soul to the world by showing your true self to others.
Being transparent is powerful. It's hard to be transparent if you're not transparent with yourself.
“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”
Carl Jung
Those professionals who live a transparent lifestyle, hold nothing back. They throw all their cards on the business table.
Many in sales talk about transparency, however; the talk doesn't match the walk.
A TRANSPARENT WINDOW
In a post trust sales world, transparent communication is mission critical to your sales success.
Transparency breeds trust. Without trust, what happens to the foundation of client relationships?
My friend, Todd Caponi, clearly articulates transparency in sales, by stating:
"Transparency sells better than perfection. Leading with our imperfections will sell better than pretending like we are perfect. And here’s a kicker is the fact that there’s this proliferation of reviews and feedback and everything we do buy an experience anyway, and that goes into B2B. We can’t hide our flaws and expect to get away with it anymore anyway, so it works."
Fear, ego and bravado prevents many from leading a transparent sales life.
- Are you brave enough to be honest and truthful with everyone you meet?
- Are you brave enough to lead with your flaws?
Attention to everyone in sales, it is all about being sincere, open, and being a real human. It is about being authentic, showing respect and having concern for others.
No pretending, no BS, and no lies. Being transparent in sales is speaking the truth.
This definition is spot on:
"Transparency is removing the mask and revealing who you really are; it is getting beyond the surface to what is really going on in your heart."
You have a choice... You can put on a show and hope you don't get exposed as an empty suit or you can embrace transparent and heartfelt conversations. The decision is yours.
A Selling From the Heart professional skips the show and gives their clients what they crave... sincerity, substance, heart and complete transparency.
SOCIAL DISTORTION DILEMA
We are still charting through some uncertain times, however; an additional pandemic I've become keenly aware of, is known as SAD. This goes against the grain of radical transparency.
It is truly a depressing state of affairs! Unfortunately, many in sales are suffering from Social Attention Disorder or otherwise known as SAD.
It's a rampant epidemic brought about by empty suits, facades, insecurity and narcissistic digital behavior.
Many are fighting to been seen but how many are truly breaking free to be heard?
Self-absorbed with themselves they love using the word "I" and "Me" Folks, it's not about you!
Sales professionals are not consumed with winning the academy award for best social actor.
The attention economy is alive and well. Insecurity, egotistical, immature and drama queens are running amuck on social. Through a socially distorted window they spew their narcissistic communication all over social.
How can you be transparent when you're trying to win the social academy award for best drama in a social motion picture?
SOCIAL DISTORTION, IT'S A DISEASE
Social platforms have become the hot spot for distortions, where the real versions of who we are remain backstage.
We take selfies, photoshop, curate and upload the best we got.
Then we hold our breath and pray for some attention. When you get called out on the digital bulls$it carpet, you become defensive as all of your digital cronies come to your defense.
I am a huge fan of John Eldredge and Wild at Heart. Pay close attention this statement:
"The social air we breathe: what has become the normal daily consumption of input is numbing the soul with artificial meaning and purpose while in fact the soul grows thinner and thinner through neglect, forced by the very madness that passes for a progressive life. We are literally being forced into the “shallows” of our life.
There’s a name for this mindless, self-serving appetite for attention and validation. It's called Social Attention Disorder. Others may call it digital narcissism. I call it social distortion through a dark clouded window.
Let's all stop and think for a moment... are we serving our clients own needs or fulfilling our own social egos?
The social emperor has no clothes
Attention to all the social emperors and "grow my list" ego maniacs who promise to help grow your audience and your sales by buying their killer course for $299, what are you really doing this for? Are you really doing this because you care? Are you doing this because you love, appreciate and have compassion? Or, are you fulfilling your ego, pride and wallet?
The pied pipers of social are everywhere. PODS are a social breeding ground for a$$ kissing, all about me, and sadly; non-transparent communication. The prey on the insecure with so-called transparent, we're here to support one another with social pats on the back but in essence it is all about feeding their own social vanity ego.
Social pied pipers blow digital smoke all over the internet. They spout, tout and challenge (with no substance) what the "new" sales world is all about.
REMEMBER... HUMANITY IN SALES
Transparent, real, open and honest professionals connect at the heart level. They connect on a real, relatable and relevant level.
A true sales professional knows their identity is not attached to winning the social academy award.
Imagine for a moment, if more ditched the empty rhetoric of the Internet and invested in their own personal and heartfelt growth, there wouldn't be as many empty suits and digital narcissists.
My question to all of you... What has happened to authenticity? What happened with upfront, honest and transparent conversations? What happened to truly connecting with people?
When you prance around as social painters, painting the social canvas with crap as many of you are jockeying for position to win the Oscar for best social picture, remember the person you're in front of may be saying this to themselves:
- Do you see me?
- Do you hear me?
- Does what I say matter to you?
- Do you even care?
As Todd Caponi says,
“Transparency sells better than perfection.” In fact, “unexpected honesty and transparency shorten sales cycles dramatically.”
I encourage you to communicate through a transparent sales window not a socially distorted window.
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 heartfelt 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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