2. Listen
As I discuss in, Sell The Way You Buy, listening is arguably THE most important factor when it comes to success in modern selling. In his popular TedX talk, The Power of Listening, Getting to Yes author, William Ury explores why listening is so powerful as it relates to the power of reciprocity. When we listen to people and demonstrate an interest in their content and consideration of their feelings, it makes it more likely that they’ll want to listen to us. It also demonstrates empathy towards the other person.
It’s not surprising that in a recent Salesforce State of Sales Report when salespeople were asked to list factors that they felt had an extreme or substantial impact on converting a prospect to a customer, listening topped the list.
Helping your customers deepen their knowledge of their cyprus telegram data industry, role, or business problem is one of the most powerful acts of reciprocity you can perform. So instead of hitting up your prospects with the all-too-familiar “Just checking in…” or “Do you have 15 minutes?” message, send them an article, white paper, or even a book that’s relevant to their business, a challenge they’re likely experiencing, or a recent conversation you had with them.
The key here is that the content you share should ideally be arms-length from your company, brand, or product and add legitimate value. That means it’s best to avoid resources that scream “Look how great we are!” like customer case studies or testimonials. Instead, use Google to easily find a relevant article from Harvard Business Review or a study from Gartner or McKinsey and send it to your customer with a note like, “Hey, I just caught this article about [ABC] and it reminded me of that conversation we had about [XYZ] where you mentioned [123]. Thought you might find it interesting.”
That’s it! No ask in return. Simply “thinking of you”.