The 5th Essential Ingredient in Consultative Sales
Revisiting The First Four Essential Ingredients
In a previous blog we talked about the first four essential ingredients in becoming a successful consultative sales professional. People buy from people they know, like, and trust. We learned that:
- Integrity, making and keeping promises to yourself, is personal. It is a you and you deal. Integrity is the precursor to trust. Growing your Integrity increases your worthiness of trust.
- Trust is public. Your actions speak louder than words. In the sales maxim you “walk the talk.”
- Influence naturally flows from a person worthy of trust. Influence with others is leadership. You are using your influence to lead the buyer through the buyer’s journey.
- Connecting with others is the fourth essential ingredient to becoming a success in consultative sales. Learning to connect with others is a skill. In the sales maxim, “customers don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. To go deep on this content, you really owe it to yourself to check out The Sales and Marketing Academy.
The 5th Essential Ingredient
The 5th essential ingredient in consultative sales is the Dream, your dream. Zig Ziglar, the great sales trainer, author, and speaker was famous for saying “Success is the progressive realization of a worthwhile dream or ideal. “Simon Sinek, author and Ted-X speaker calls it “your why.” Your dream, your vision, you ideal, “your why” has to be so crystal clear in your mind, so captivating to your heart, that you will work day and night, overcome all obstacles, and blow through the walls of fear and doubt for its attainment. Sadly, many people do not have a dream or a vision for their life. They live a life of default instead of living a life by design. These people either feel that they do not have enough, or they are not enough.
But what if you don’t have a dream or a vision? How can you discover what your dream or vision for your life might be? In his book, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey articulates the most compelling exercise I have ever experienced to help you discover the dream or vision that is embedded in your being.
Covey’s Habit
Covey’s Habit # 2 Begin with the End in Mind-Legacy. I attended a 3-day 7 Habits Course in Indianapolis in 1995. This exercise was emotionally compelling. The course instructors asked the class of 20 students to think about and consider what we would want people to say about us after we pass away. As instructed, we all took the time to think, reflect, and consider the question. We were encouraged to write down our thoughts. When we were done, the instructors facilitated a conversation around the exercise. To our amazement, each one of us came up with a list of character traits. We all wanted to be remembered as a good human being. We all wanted to be remembered as honest, kind, patient, loving, generous and on and on it went. We were strongly urged to begin at once to conduct our professional and personal affairs with these character traits in mind. And if we were to live this out over the course of our lifetime, these character traits would become our legacy.
Your Vision, Your Why
Begin with the End in Mind-Lifestyle. This same exercise can also be applied to the kind of lifestyle or life experiences that you would like to have. Using your imagination, think about the kind of home that you want to live in, the kind of car you want to drive, the vacations that you want to take, and the causes for humanity that you want to support. Sketch it out. Be detailed. Visit your dream regularly. The more that you fall in love with your Dream, your vision, your why, the more likely that your dream or vision will pull you through the challenges you will undoubtedly encounter along the way.
Ready To Learn More And Become The Person You Dream Of Becoming?
Now that you have determined your Vision or Dream for your life, both your Legacy and Lifestyle you can begin to work hard for its attainment. In his book, As a Man Thinketh, James Allen writes, The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart, this you will build your life by, this you will become. Come join me at The Sales and Marketing Academy and become the person you dream of becoming! Come join me at The Sales and Marketing Academy and become the person you dream of becoming!