Values Centered Leadership Increase Sales

December 9th, 2010 |

During a mastermind call last night, I learned a colleague, Lisa Huetteman, shared some insight from her forthcoming book on values centered leadership. This sharing came after discussion that I shared with a client earlier in the day about clearly articulating through writing and discussion the behaviors associated with values.

In past postings I have written about values through different perspectives such as:

What is so important and so undeniable is the behaviors of many who are engaged in sales as a profession and lack values centered leadership. This is quite evident by many of the discussion groups within LinkedIn. Group managers are now having to police discussions among these so called leaders (members) because the plethora of sales people including small business owners who are engaged in self promotion by disguising their sell pitches (not very well) under the pretense of a discussion.

How does values centered leadership affect the ability to increase sales? Possibly dramatically because it is in alignment with the first of the 3 sales buying rules and the first of the 5 sales objections bucket.

Values centered leadership actually begins with each individual because if you cannot lead yourself with positive non-negotiable core values, you cannot lead anyone else. The behaviors of how you lead yourself is what other observe and make judgments specific to:

Do I want to know you?
Do I want to trust you?

Sales Training Coaching Tip: First buying rule is “People buy from people they know and trust.”

These behaviors then lead to the second sales objection about your company to the third sales objection your solution be it your products or services. The price objection is usually far more connected to you as the salesperson violating the 3 Buying Rules which may spawn the first three sales objections.

After discussion yesterday with another potential customer (qualified prospect), I once again never heard an objection to price. This now happens more often than not because I am no longer violating the 3 buying rules and mastering how to put a lid on those sales objections buckets which prevent any raised questions or reasons not to buy from ever happening.

The best way to embrace values centered leadership in sales begins with constructing your own written values statement and then investing the time to identify the behaviors associated with each of those 24/7 non-negotiable core values. Then consider changing your role as salesperson to being the buying partner to your potential customer. As you now partner with her or him you are both on the same side of the buying decision making table so to speak.

Your active listening skills are in full engagement. You see the picture from your potential customer’s perspective with far greater clarity because you have removed the “I gotta sell” thought from your brain.

One value communication strategy that I now consistently employ is confirmation through clarity and agreement. Sales Training Coaching Tip: Use this acronym CLEAR to improve your active listening skills:

Clarity
Legitimize
Emotion
Agreement
Retention

This is explained in greater detail in my book Be the Red Jacket in a Sea of Gray Suits.

After I listen and when a natural break happens in the conversation, I confirm what I heard. If I have heard incorrectly, the potential client will let me know. Then after I answer a question from the qualified prospect, I will ask “Does that make sense to you?” Again, I am looking for confirmation.

Some sales experts will say this strategy is a “mini-close.” I don’t believe that to be true even though ultimately it helps to earn the sale. What I believe is this to be is one of “values demonstration” through individual leadership skills because of the number one buying rule:

People buy from people they know and trust.

Sales Training Coaching Tip: Before the end of the year closes, consider returning to your strategic plan (you do have one don’t you?”, revisit your values statement, identify the behaviors reflected through those positive non-negotiable core values and begin to consistently demonstrate them in all interactions. Maybe you will not increase sales overnight, but I do know you will increase sales because people are now buying you and you no longer have to engaged in that hard, soft or consultative sell.