Picture this: it’s Thursday afternoon and there are only a few business days left before the end of the month. You’re responsible for ensuring that your business hits its sales and revenue goals, and that means one thing – closing deals.
The good news? You’ve got a few solid selling hours left, and this isn’t your first rodeo. So, what do you do? You saddle up. You make the calls. You send the emails. You drop the texts. One, two, ten, twenty-five. You grind it out because selling is about two things: relationships and consistency.
Then, you land a meeting.
“Come by at two; I’ve got a few minutes then.”
And as you walk up to the door, you pause, take a moment, and thank the Lord for providing the right opportunities with the right people at the right time. Then, you knock confidently.
“Come on in. I only have a sec. I’m sorry – crazy day.”
You try to be gracious with a “No worries,” and chat about basketball for a minute. But then, just as you go hard with the pitch, you notice something… off. I mean, you know how to read the room – better yet, the guy across the table – just by the look on his face.
Nah. Never mind. It was nothing. You shake it off. This is a tough market, and this is a customer you lost when the guy across town
The point is to learn and keep getting better,
because that’s really
what it’s all about
– being the best version of ourselves that we can be today, together.
undercut you by a nickel. You want this sale so bad you can taste it.
But there it is again – that look of worry and fear.
Like I said, selling is about good relationships, and you know this guy. Heck, your families sit across the aisle at church. So, you have a choice: do the risky thing and ask what’s wrong, or go for the close?
We seem to adopt one of two ways of relating to people around us: I/It or I/Thou.
- I/It is a relation of subject to object, where we
see others as tools for achieving whatever
agenda we may have in mind. They become
pawns. And while that sounds sinister and
evil, it’s widely accepted – especially in the
business world. People become the means to
our ends.
So, consider this:
Are you focused on processes and problems, or people first? Are you looking for the social-media post that’s a cry to be seen, to be known, and to be appreciated as a person? Are you catching the look that says someone needs a listener – maybe even a prayer?
Are you paying attention?
40 WESTERN PALLET