Sales skills only get you halfway to where you need to be

Early in my first marriage it became clear to my wife that something had to change.

And, that something was me.

I had good potential as a husband.

It was the human side of me that needed work.

This same dynamic is at work in every role we play in our lives.

Every role composed of two distinct, yet inseparable, parts:

1. The human.
2. What's defined in the job description: Boyfriend. Girlfriend. Partner. Spouse. Seller. Analyst. Engineer. Supervisor. Manager. VP. CEO.

We roll through life on the assumption that we know how to fulfill the human part. There’s nothing in life that we practice more than being human. 24/7/365.

Or, so we believe.

However, when you look at research findings about those things that negatively influence buying decisions they tend to be failures of the human, not the seller.

For instance, one study reported that 77% of decision makers believed sellers were more interested in talking about their products than understanding the buyer's problems.

That's not a sales skills issue. It's a human skills problem. Be more interested in others than yourself. Put the interests of others ahead of your own.

Another study based on interviews of B2B buyers found that one of the key reasons sellers lost enterprise deals is that they failed to create an emotional connection with the decision maker(s).

That's not a sales skills issue. It's another human skills problem. Find common ground to connect and establish rapport with another human. Build credibility and demonstrate trustworthiness.

Sales skills will only get you halfway to where you need to be as a seller.

It's proficiency in the human skills that will firmly differentiate you in the eyes of your buyers.

Read my new book "Sell Without Selling Out" to learn the four core human skills you need to become a complete seller (Connection, Curiosity, Understanding, Generosity.)

Click here to download a free chapter.

Or click the link below to buy it straight from Amazon.