How to employ human connection marketing as opposed to dog-eat-dog
That mindset is definitely still out there, alive and well. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, as far as sales and marketing is concerned.
And it seems the poor Used Car Salesmen get the brunt of it all, having to deal with the sleazy stereotype all of the time.
Unfortunately, some sales professionals fit this negative portrayal. In tough economic times or when sales are slow, the not-enough-scarcity mentality rears its head causing even well-meaning sales people to resort to methods and tactics that are really a byproduct of fear and desperation.
It can be discouraging for the sales professional who is progressive, relationship-focused, and wants to be ethical and authentic — and have fun at work…….rather than plugging away endlessly making cold calls because you have to make your numbers.
I know a real estate agent who, when he first started, took out a phone book and just started calling people up.
Not sure I’d really want to do that.
A real estate agent trainer and motivational speaker who speaks all over the world told me, in essence, that in real estate you have to be agressive; the Alpha Male (or Fe-male) wins.
This approach may work for some people, for those who enjoy that sort of thing. Problem is, every potential client is just a number. Under this paradigm, the agent is forever trying to get to a “No” so she or he can get to the next call.
But what do you do in an industry that claims to be a dog-eat-dog world, and “eating dogs” just isn’t your style?
Gary Elwood of ProQuest Technologies offers a wonderful discussion of this very thing in his article, Real Estate Agents: You Don’t Work for Wal-Mart.
When making phone calls, he offers these sales tips (which can be used in other settings, as well) to the relationship-based real estate agent (and by extension, to any sales professional) who prefers quality to quantity:
- Starting calls with a focused problem statement makes it easy to create two-way dialogue.
- Your attentiveness to your prospects’ concerns makes a real human connection possible.
- The goal is to learn the truth and explore if there’s a fit between your solution and your prospect’s problem or concern.
- And when you’ve learned the truth, whether the answer is a yes or a no, rejection is impossible.
Sales doesn’t have to be dog-eat-dog. It can be an authentic expression of who you are.
In this way, your perfect clients for you are naturally and magnetically drawn to work with you – rather than having their arm twisted and being left feeling coerced and manipulated.
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Flickr image by Jurek Durczak, used with permission under a Creative Commons license
It’s important for anyone in marketing or sales to realise that we don’t have to sacrifice friendships and ethics in order to have the success we want.
In the world of business, the Goose that lays the eggs IS the relationships we build.
Taking care of people should be our primary mission. Marketing in fact, is an extension of this regard for others.
Jay Abraham says exactly this.
Thanks for the article!
Herrin´s last blog ..The System Is The Solution – The eMyth with Michael E Gerber
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tshombe Reply:
December 6th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
@Herrin,
Isn’t it interesting how some continue to hold to the mistaken belief that if they want success they have to step all over people to get it.
I love your insightful comment about how marketing is an extension of the caring for people and building relationships. It’s a simply concept, but in order to apply it, it needs to be deliberate and conscious since the prevailing conditioned response tends to be “dog eat dog.”
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