The best modern sellers are both students and teachers.
They are students of the game. They read. They seek to continually learn and improve. They study. They practice. They plan. They know they will never know it all. They stay up to date. And they are student of their customers and their markets. They stay abreast of key trends that influence their customers (and prospective customers). They seek to understand how their customers buy, who the key players are, and what is most important to them.
At the same time, they are teachers. They bring experience and a broader perspective that their customers don’t have. They provide insight and guidance; not just product knowledge, but help in tackling problems or realizing opportunities. They help customers uncover blind spots. They bring to the surface things customers aren’t thinking about, but should be; things that might have a great impact on their business.
The best sellers blend the two together. They do it in a collaborative conversational fashion. They don’t act like a know-it-all, telling customers what they need to do. Rather, they engage in a dialog with the customer, weaving their experience and expertise with learning about the customers’ specific circumstances. They will (or should) know more about their niche where they provide value, and the customer will always know more about their unique situation.
Whoever said “telling is not selling” got it right. But passive fact-finding alone also falls short; the same with blind adherence to every customer demand. Effective selling requires a collaborative dialog in which we both learn and teach.
This post originally appeared on LinkedIn
