The Art of Becoming Friends First and Making the Sale Second

In February of 2008, I fell in love. Actually, my husband, James, and I both fell in love with an adorable little puppy named Roy Rogers. Despite the initial unusual name, we were smitten. So, during a Mardi Gras parade in Metairie, Louisiana, little Tebow became ours. (For those of you who are uneducated in the fine art of Florida football, let me explain. Tim Tebow was the 2007 Heisman trophy winner, who led the Gators to national championships in 2006 and 2008.) Obviously, you can see why our sweet little puppy needed such a kick-ass name. Like all first time parents, we did all the ridiculous things like buying a $30 leash and taking him to puppy training where he learned how awesome it was to pee in PetSmart. After those initial debacles, we read all the books and became fairly adept dog trainers. We also decided to take him to the local dog park. Unfortunately, the local dog park (and the only dog park in Mississippi) happens to be in a town just outside of Hattiesburg called Petal. Petal is not exactly what one would call a bustling metropolis… in fact, po-dunk would probably be a more appropriate term. We expected that Tebow would get some much needed socialization, what we didn’t expect was that James and I would as well. We have met all kinds of people at the dog park-most of them we would have never gotten a chance to meet and would have certainly never become friends with. There were definitely some unusual people-and we really had nothing in common except that we loved our dogs-but somehow it worked. We became friends with many of our dog park acquaintances because we had a shared interest.

Our dog park experience has revolutionized my idea about sales. The fact is, you are a lot more likely to buy a product or a service from someone you trust, someone you have spent time with, and someone who has listened to you-a friend. The dog park taught me that you can become friends with almost anyone-there is always some similar interest that can connect you to another person. The true art of selling is the empathy that only a friend can provide. When you become a true friend to someone, you find out their problems, find out what makes them tick, and find out what their passions are. Be empathetic to their life. Find ways to connect to them. Not only will this provide you with the information necessary to convince them of their need for your product, it will also open their mind up to listening to what you have to say. The process does not have to be exceptionally long or involved, but it does have to be genuine. People will almost invariably say no when ideas are sprung on them, but will say yes when eased in.  Just as a friend would do, make sure and bring up all the parts of your business/service that may not be favorable to them-this will validate the friendship and validate your honesty as a salesperson. Of course, being a genuinely nice person is always good for you and your company!

I would love to get your thoughts on this issue. You can reach me at Jdanner@peoplelease.com