Your Brand Equity-Priceless !
As salespeople , we aspire to become " trusted advisors " to our clients- we want them to " give us the keys to their kingdom ". In the rush to be at that point , we forget to realize that in order to have that status , we need to earn it- it is not an entitlement but a privilege that needs to be deserved after we have proven ourselves capable of that role , through our actions . Every action we take , whether small or big , direct or indirect , overt or covert , moves us along the " Trust Reputation " continuum- we either move a couple of notches towards the trusted advisor end or we slide backwards to the " Tactical Vendor " end , where the majority of salespeople exist today . It is difficult to create brand value & trust value and very easy to destroy it .
In today ' s hyper-connected age where the convergence of SAMC ( Social , Analytics , Mobile & Cloud ) has made client ' s extremely perceptive and astute listeners-every move you make , every step you take , I ' ll be watching you ( Sting ' s lyrics in one of my favorite songs ). Inspite of this recent phenomenon , I am continually reminded of how unaware most salespeople are of the signals they are giving out to their customers with each interaction they have with them- a voicemail , email , linked in message , text message , face to face meeting , an introduction to another resource etc . Most salespeople , do not put the customer front and center of their every interaction and discussion- they either put themselves or their company at that position- as a result , their behavior takes root from that internal focal point , rather than the external orientation that should in reality be their beacon- their lighthouse , their guidepost ; that will lead them through stormy waters to greener pastures-that will protect them , less they slip and falter and shield them from the terror of the darkness of the night ( Psalms from the Bible ).
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