Stop Selling and Start Leading

3Clarify Values

AUDREY MORRISON SOLD CORPORATE HOUSING solutions to help companies relocate employees or host out-of-town executives and clients. She reached her annual quota by closing a nearly $400,000 deal with her very first client, a well-known company.

In discussing what led to her success, Audrey attributed it to something buyers rate much higher in importance than sellers typically do. She recognized the link between her core values and her actions. “I demonstrated great service,” she said. “This is something that is very important to me in my day-to-day life. I think it's always important to be as helpful and friendly as possible.” She conveys to buyers her authentic commitment to service, driven by her deeply held values, in a manner that gives them confidence in her.

Audrey also values authenticity and honesty. In closing her first deal, this meant being natural and being prepared to answer every question thoroughly and accurately, a practice she continues. “I'm not a pushy person,” she told us. “I let my personality show and made it fairly casual, more like a conversation than a sales pitch. I wasn't overly aggressive just so I could close the deal.”

There's a statistically significant relationship between the extent that sellers are clear about their leadership philosophy and both how proud they are to tell others where they work and how effective they report being ...