8

It's All About Connecting

I would love to have a nickel for every study that has been done to determine why customers buy. I'd be a very wealthy person. Everyone in business is very interested in learning as much as possible about what drives buyer behavior, whether they are buying computers or toothpaste or anything in between. The more sellers know about buyers, the more successful they will be. You can't argue with that.

We find it particularly interesting that the results of recent surveys are similar to those that were conducted decades ago. People in the buying role consistently demand these key behaviors from their salespeople:

  • Credibility
  • Empathy
  • Sensitivity
  • Trustworthiness

Credibility, empathy, and trust have always been front and center. Sensitivity, which many people believe is a subset of empathy, is a more recent entry to the scene. But they are all important, and all members of every sales team must do everything they can to demonstrate these behaviors to their prospects and customers.

Your customers want to feel as comfortable with the team as a whole as they might about the individuals who comprise the team. Chances are pretty good that a customer will not be enamored with every member of the team. It happens. But you do want them to feel very positive about the team overall. The whole is often greater than the sum of its parts, and we think this applies well to sales teams.

Credibility

You know that this is an important behavior for anyone involved in sales. ...

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