How to Earn the Right to Ask the Customer to Buy from You: Tip #1

Start with Gratitude

I am going to begin this by admitting that I never liked doing account preparation.  Every customer required dedicated prep time.  It was the same thing over and over, blah, blah, blah.  OMG!  What an idiot I was.  My attitude and focus were fixed in the wrong direction and on all the wrong things.

I foolishly undervalued preparing for the sales conversation.  I saw it as work, as drudgery, instead of a path forward.  I was so focused on my weekly, mandated sales target that I forgot the most important factor – how to best showcase my products to my customers so they would “naturally” want to say, “Yes!”

Commit to Your Sales Career or Move On

Ask yourself, “Am I really committed to creating a successful, lucrative career in sales?”  If you truly believe you are, then know this:

The amount of effort you put into account preparation before your initial Sales Conversation, no matter what you are selling, is directly related to how much right you have earned to ask for the sale.

Take a minute to let that sink in.  Notice that I said earn the right not assume you automatically have the right to ask the customer to buy from you.  If you want the customer to buy from you, then you have to earn that right.  How do you do that?  You first develop a mindset of “serving.”

Commit to Serving, not Selling

Get ready!  I am about to hit you, like Karen (my manager) hit me, over the head with a proverbial two-by-four in my third year of telephone sales.  Stop selling and start serving!  Let’s say you are committed to your company, its products and its services.  And, you’re committed to serving the customers who are just waiting for you to call them.

Don’t you dare roll your eyes!  I know what you’re thinking; I thought the same thing.  But, there are millions of business owners out there who want and need what you have to offer.  You just need to find out who and where they are.  However, just because you find these buyers doesn’t mean you deserve to be in front of them.

It is a privilege to serve your customer.  You get to help them achieve a better way of life.  It is an honor to serve them; it is not your right to sell to them.  You must come from a place of service, and what better way to start than with gratitude.

Start with Gratitude

We’ve all heard about the importance of gratitude.  Being grateful comes easy when things go your way – when someone is nice to you or helps you out of a pinch, or when things happen according to plan.  The more important time for gratitude is when things don’t come easy, when they don’t go your way.

If you approach the sales conversation from a place of gratitude, then serving your customer will come naturally.  Especially when you add an easy to follow structure to your sales conversations that allows you to stay on track and handle whatever comes your way confidently and professionally.  I call this structure the Don’t Sell. Let Them Buy, Sales Conversation Process.  This process always begins and ends with showing gratitude to your customer.

“Listen to learn, open your heart to feel, and serve with a passion to help others have a better way of life, and you too will be rewarded.” Chiqeeta Jameson

Tip #1: Find your gratitude

Let’s be honest – the sales conversation is not always easy.  It can be packed with challenges and uncertainties.  It can also be fun, invigorating and fulfilling…at the same time!  It’s all about your mindset and your intention for a positive outcome for the customer.

What is your mindset? Navigating the highs and lows is easier when you stop thinking about yourself (selling) and give all you can to your customer.  This is serving your customer from a place gratitude.  It works, and it feels good.

Studies have shown that gratitude boosts self-esteem and increases resilience.  When you come from a “serving” mindset, you are calm and can easily handle the curve balls the customer may throw at you. You are more relaxed and thoughtful; you can think on your feet which allows you to assume the lead and change direction on a dime during the sales conversation.  You know that you need this ability to be a sales superstar!  When your mindset is one of gratitude, your customer will be more comfortable and more willing to open up to you.

How to Find Your Gratitude:

• Give thanks that you have been hired by an amazing company that produces products and services you are proud to represent.
• Be grateful that your manager saw something in you when you interviewed for the position, something that you somehow lost. Find it.
• Realize that it is your passion and determination to do what it takes that will turn you into your own success story.
• Believe you can and you will.

Gratitude is Infinite

Gratitude creates a ripple effect.  Expressing gratitude invites more to be grateful for.  Finding your gratitude opens the door to infinite possibilities – for serving not selling your customer and helping your customer achieve a better way of life.

Like my mentor, Zig Ziglar, says:

“Gratitude is the healthiest of human emotions.  The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” Zig Ziglar

What is Your Sales Conversation Mindset?

Do you Sell or do you Serve?  Learn how to shift from ‘selling’ to ‘guiding’ your customers to a successful outcome EVERY TIME! Get Your Copy of Chiqeeta’s Bestselling Book Today!

Chiqeeta Jameson – Sales Coach, Speaker and #1 Bestselling Author of Don’t Sell. Let Them Buy, Master the Sales Conversation and Guide Your Customers To A Successful Outcome Every Time.

www.ChiqeetaJameson.com