I have never liked being ‘sold’ anything. The pressure of the other person’s need to get your money, to win your deal, is a sure-fire way to dissolve the good will that is initially extended in business. What’s worse is I don’t ever want to be perceived as ‘selling’ anything. Yet my company, and I’m sure your company, has an incredible set of solutions to offer the world and that requires sales. So where is the balance between offering and promoting vs. selling and negotiating? For my team it’s in the simple letters of ABC.

We changed the rules for what ABC stands for in sales. Have you heard that ABC stands for “Always Be Closing”? The concept is that your conversations, your actions, your intent is to always be focused on how to ‘close’ a deal. And of course that philosophy works and has worked for many sales people. The problem with that philosophy is that if you are always focused on closing a deal, then you may become too focused on filling your personal needs and you may fail to listen and attend to the customer’s needs. I have personally seen too many sales people fall into this trap and alienate customers, relationship managers, partners and even their own team.

ABC in my company stands for “Always Be Confident”. Classic sales training books and classes teach that “you” are the product people buy not necessarily the goods and services you’re promoting. We all prefer to buy from someone we like and believe in and that person is usually the most confident in who they are, what they do and what their products do. By focusing your personal development and growth on becoming your most confident self you’ll find that:

1. You’re not really selling — you’re promoting and informing.
2. You’re not grabbing someone’s attention — you’re attracting it.
3. You’re not closing deals — you’re winning friends and customers.

I have often told people that the fine line between confidence and arrogance is humility. Have you noticed that the annoying, high-pressure sales person tends to be arrogant? Therefore the fine line between being perceived as a sales-type person vs. someone your customers want to do business with is your confidence. Always be confident and your sales will take care of themselves.

Thanks for reading,

Richard Walker

(Blog: www.EfficientCEO.com)

(Website: www.Quikforms.com)

I became an entrepreneur when I started my first business at age twelve. My dream was simple: become a great leader and change the world. Today, as the President and CEO of Efficient Technology Inc, my vision is constantly being exercised and my goal is still the same. These articles are about the many facets of my passion for business: leadership, management, people, processes and technology. While I enjoy other passions like snowboarding and surfing, my focus is to share what I learn daily with everyone around me, and readers like you. I welcome your feedback and insight!

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