Selling Power.com published an article entitled Six Sins of Selling that discusses modern changes in selling and sales people’s need to change and adapt to them. Certainly that statement is true, but item #2 especially caught my attention.
Sales Sin #2: Selling personality rather than value
Customers will buy from people they like. There is no question about it. Today€™s buyer, however, is much more sophisticated and has much more information at his or her disposal. The information revolution gives customers a global arsenal of data and an almost limitless number of options. In the past personality may have been your core value. Today it will deliver only a slight edge, all things being equal. Today, value almost always trumps relationship. Learn your product, and practice ways to effectively articulate your value.
I was going through some old training materials that were gathering dust in my office. I read through the notes I had made about the course and notes to myself on some things to try. The Selling Power article is right on. I’m afraid some of the techniques of old would fall flat today. It truly is about value.
A good relationship brings value, but it is no longer a “primary” value to most buyers. It seems the ability to outline, explain and qualify the points of value to an individual prospect are far more important than how easy you are to get along with.