Practice 2Inspire a Shared Vision
As a seller, you are a purveyor of hope for the future. Buyers turn to you for solutions. As an exemplary seller, you attract buyers and make sales by painting the picture of a brighter tomorrow, showing what's possible when everyone works together for a common purpose.
But one person's vision, no matter how exciting, won't make an extraordinary difference. It's not enough that you believe some action would be beneficial for your buyer. If you alone see, understand, and believe in your vision, it won't generate the organized movement necessary to activate it. You need others—including buyers—to see and believe in the exciting future possibilities. Leaders breathe life into visions. They communicate hopes and dreams so others can clearly understand and share them as their own. They show others how the long-term vision of the future serves their values and interests.
The vision of the future portrayed by some sellers is fabricated, exaggerated, or farfetched, filled with “blue sky” promises. Buyers react negatively when sellers over-promise and under-deliver. Unfortunately, this happens often enough that buyers are suspicious when they hear a seller's vision. They want to see themselves in it, but aren't sure they can believe the possibilities being described. That's why credibility is vitally important to leadership and accomplishing extraordinary sales.
To Inspire a Shared Vision is to fully understand what buyers want to see and experience ...
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