Selling From The Heart

By Kym Cousins
Sprout Enablement

Have you ever met a salesperson who just seems “different” from the rest?  I mean – they’re different from the unfortunate stereotype that many of us have grown up with and perhaps still have, about salespeople in general.  It’s that picture many people still have in their mind which portrays salespeople as pushy, aggressive and untrustworthy.  Where did we get that from really?

Have you ever heard the term “Snake Oil Salesman”?  Well, it all started in the 1850’s in North America during the Gold Rush.  Chinese workers came to work in the Gold Mines and brought Chinese medicines with them, which included actual snake oil.  The Chinese gold mine workers used it as a liniment which they rubbed onto their aching joints and muscles. American opportunists took hold of the idea and produced their own snake oil (from local snakes) and travelled from town to town, selling bottles of it – as the answer to all ailments.  Needless to say, it didn’t work!  The Chinese Snake Oil that the workers had brought with them was made from Chinese snakes with special healing properties.  The American Snake Oil Salesmen were soon labelled as ‘shonksters’, ‘charlatans’ and many other names that have seemed to categorise many salespeople since those early days of selling.

But – that’s not you, is it?  You are not any of those things – you are professional, trustworthy, authentic and heart-felt.

So – when you find a salesperson who is ‘different’ from the “Snake Oil’ stereotype, you can usually spot it straight away! You know their job is to sell something to you, but it just doesn’t feel like they are ‘selling’ at all.  They have a way of understanding exactly what it is that you are looking for, they make you feel quite comfortable during the sales conversation and seem to really care about wanting to make a difference for you personally.

What is it that makes that special sales person different?  Put simply – they don’t try to ‘sell’ anything at all!  They are simply driven to be of service to their customers, to provide information, education and insights and ultimately – to help us, the customers – buy!

The foundational essence of the modern, professional salesperson is their ability to create deep and meaningful connections with their customer.  Their interactions and sales conversations ooze with authenticity, heart and soul.
The fact is – we love to do business with these authentic salespeople because they genuinely care about helping us get what we want – and more importantly, what we need.  An authentic, heart-based sales person – focusses on their customer.  They put their customer first – they ‘give’ before getting.

Let’s not forget that salespeople need to make sales, build their business and earn their commissions, but those who wake up each day, ready to serve others are happier, healthier, more productive and wildly successful.  Those salespeople and business owners who truly connect and understand how they can help their customers to: do more, be more and achieve more – don’t really sell at all!

Kym

Kym Cousins
Sprout Enablement

Kym is best known for her passion in enabling her clients’ personal and business success through developing their confidence and skills in the areas of: sales, marketing, communication and leadership.  She is the owner of ‘Sprout Enablement’ – a national Training and Coaching Consultancy and holds academic qualifications in marketing and management.

Kym is a professionally qualified coach and facilitator and a certified Myers Briggs and Emotional Intelligence practitioner. Throughout her corporate career as a senior leader with some of Australia’s most recognizable Global IT brands, Kym managed high performance sales teams and enabled partner and alliance organisations to build vendor brand presence.  Amongst Kym’s accomplishments of which she is most proud are the achievements, accolades and career growth her mentees. Many of these sales leaders and entrepreneurs have won various global Awards, have built successful businesses and have enjoyed immense personal success.