What my mom taught me about selling

Mother’s Day is one of my favorite holidays and has been at least for the past 17 years, since I have an awesome daughter who has made this holiday worth celebrating. I also am lucky to have a wonderful mom.

My family gathered together today to celebrate this holiday and as I was drivng home, I wondered what influence my mom has had on my sales abilities. My first thought is absolutely nothing. My mother is so far removed from any business, sales, or public speaking aspect as her background is completely different. She never worked outside the home and is still very traditional in her European ways. 

So how does this translate to who I am and what I do? My mother has given me the gift of intuition and the ability to listen and learn someone’s character. Intuition is key in sales and something we need to listen and trust more often. How many times are we dealing with a call where we know something isn’t right or suspect a hidden agenda? Or we’ve got a sale and it’s not lining up the way it could be? Or we’re talking with someone who acts as though they’ve got power but we sense otherwise? We need to listen to our “gut”, or intuition, which knows so much more than any books, training, or manager can ever teach us.

That’s where listening comes in. The ability to listen to yourself and listen to others. The ability to really listen to more than what is said and to understand one’s character. If we are good at this skill, we can create more urgency in the sales cycle and also map out the political influences in an org chart. For example, although someone tells us they are one of the main decision-makers, we still sense they don’t have high influence.

Take the time to listen this week to more than what is said and trust your intuition about potential opportunities. Take notes on your calls and ask the tough questions that invite a bigger response. Move deeper with your conversations with prospects. Try to develop the type of relationship with your prospects where they might say to you, “I’ve never shared this with anyone before but……” or “you’re the first I’ve ever said this to.” That’s an endorsement of your listening and your ability to establish trust.