Selling Is Not About Personalities
Some sales gurus will tell you that the closer you can fit your personality to the personality of your prospects, the more effective you’ll be at creating chemistry, ultimately leading to acquiring more clients.
Some even preach spending your time having your personality profiled through multiple personality tools to better understand what “type” you are.
That all sounds great, if you’re looking to make new friends in a social environment.
Personality fit traces back to the broader sales concept of “relationship-building”, which predicates your ability to do business with people to the extent to which you get along with them.
The problem is, this approach turns your sales conversations into social conversations, which shifts your sales meeting in the wrong direction…
If your real purpose is to help your prospects see that you’re the right choice for them to solve their problems, but you rely on using relationship-building “skills” to accomplish that purpose, then you can be perceived as operating with an ulterior motive, which is the antithesis of how people operate in genuine relationships.
A genuine business relationship starts after they’re a client, not before.
Consider other sales interactions in which you’re involved from the customer’s side, such as seeing your doctor, attorney or mechanic.
There’s little, if any, “personality fit” embedded within these interactions, yet they happen as a matter of routine.
You don’t need to know these experts personally, any more than they need to know you.
The object of the interaction is for them to assess your problem at a deep level, so you instantly feel you can trust them to solve it.
The Sale Is a Problem Clarity Moment
It’s important to understand that the sales conversation is not a “personality fit moment” between two peers needing to get along.
It’s a “problem clarity moment” between an expert and non-expert, where the elimination of a problem is of mutual benefit to both.
Just like it is for you when you see your doctor, attorney or mechanic — your priority is to feel certain that they’ll get your issues solved.
A faux social interaction does not give them that certainty — it gives them uncertainty about your intentions.
And neither does education about your solution.
As a non-expert, your prospect can’t know if your solution will work until after they hire you, not before.
They can only assess how much they trust you based on how they feel about your behaviour with them.
Clarify Their Problem (Don’t “Sell”)
Clarifying or “diagnosing” their issues during the sales conversation is the only way to build deep trust, because it demonstrates that:
a.) You’re an expert on their specific problems and…
b.) You care enough to explain it to them without trying to sell your solution
You prove your value and build trust, when you do a deep-dive into their issues to help them understand their cost-of-inaction (COI).
There’s no need to create a quasi-business relationship (which is a form of “selling”) if you keep your conversation focused on the above.
It’s critical that you shift your sales approach from personality-based to a deep-drive problem-centric approach.
To learn more about this contrarian trust-based approach to selling, order your complimentary book and consultation below.
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In this ground-breaking new book, you’ll discover:
- Why does the sale hinge on a split-second decision!
- "Fit or No Fit" -- does it still work?
- Should you be skeptical of your prospect's agenda?
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- How to differentiate yourself from other advisors
- Why "follow-up" should be banned!
- "We're talking to other advisors"
- Why you should be a financial "doctor" instead of advisor
Meet The Author
Ari Galper is the world’s number one authority on trust-based selling and is one the most sought-after sales conversion experts for advisors and business owners.
He is the creator of Unlock The Game®, a completely new revolutionary sales approach that overturns the notion of selling as we know it today.
Ari has been featured in CEO Magazine, SkyNews, Forbes, INC Magazine and Financial Advisor Magazine – and has been a featured speaker at the Financial Planning Association’s national conference.
His newest book, “TRUST In A Split Second!”, has become an instant best-seller among high-trust advisors worldwide.
With clients in over 35 countries, his global sales systems have become the most successful Trust-Based Selling systems of our time.
In a day and age where technology rules the selling world, for many growth-oriented advisors, deep trust has taken a “back seat” to the sales process.
Ari’s personal insights on how to build trust between buyers and sellers continue to break new ground in virtually every industry.
Ari has been on a mission for the last two decades to change the business world through trust as a foundational principle.
Through his sold-out talks all over the world and his in-house trainings for high-producing advisors, Ari has become the global ambassador to businesses all over the world.
He regularly connects with global business icons and leaders of industries seeking his counsel on how to infuse trust in their organisations and across their teams.
His work in the trust-based selling field, focusing on reversing control of the sales process, from buyer to seller, is considered category-of-one thinking, with over a two decades of proven execution and results.
