I have learned about a million different things in my first several months working as an account sales representative for Wildman Business Group, my first sales position. I've learned the ins and outs of the uniform and facility service industry, the common problems people face, sales techniques, why people buy, etc. These are all extremely important things to know, but there has been one thing that has stuck out to me. And this doesn't only apply to sales, but life in general.
If you really want to win over anybody, get them to your side, or improve your relationship with them and eventually sell a customer on your company and product, you need to not only understand their situation, but you should always give, give, give, then give some more, THEN ask for the sale, or something in return.
But, what does "giving" mean? In my opinion, it is providing helpful information, insight, or a spending time making someone's life better without expecting anything in return.
From a sales perspective, this could mean scheduling time to hear someone out on their needs and what they want to achieve as a business, running out to a business to provide free uniform or walk-off mat samples, educating a business owner uniform or facility service industry trends, running a cost comparison for a business owner, or providing a customer reference list to a potential customer.
From a life perspective, this can mean any good deed where you dedicate your own time to improving someone else's day. This could mean bringing them coffee if they are tired and studying late into the night, critiquing someone's resume, giving them a ride, taking them to dinner and just listening to what they're going through in life at the moment.
When you do these things, you make people feel important. I have talked about this before, but when someone perceives that you value them as important, they will value you even more and trust you. Trust is the basis for all healthy relationships. And under the law of reciprocation, that person is likely to return a favor at some point down the road, or at least pass the good deed onto someone else.
Today, work on giving, not asking.