The Human Element in Sales
Upon first graduating college, I knew two things that might seem ironic to many of you now:
- I didn’t want to go into sales
- I never wanted to work in technology
This may come as a surprise to many, as throughout my career, those two items have been at the core of what I do for over 30 years now. But before I ever began, I felt like both sales and tech were not for me. The market didn’t seem to reward upstanding character and didn’t necessarily disclose nor punish deceit (i.e. on the seller nor buyer side).
I don’t think I’m alone here, either, as so many of us may have ended up on the wrong side of a bad deal or a dishonest agent in some way. This is why it’s called “earning” trust: because people have a legitimate incentive to not be totally truthful, and to take shortcuts on their way to make ‘quick money.’ Therefore, trust, especially from someone you don’t yet know personally, must be won over and, in my opinion, proven over a long period of time through many interactions. People don’t just give away their trust, nor should they.
As it turned out, I was only partially correct; sales leaders and high-growth companies that took shortcuts could gain in the short term, but if that customer felt slighted, that sale would be built on a sandy foundation, barring any chance at establishing any real rapport or relationship in the long-term.
Finally, I’m back at the company I founded in 2007. @Cornerstone Technologies grew out of a desire to set a culture I wished to see in this marketplace. I figured while I always have much to learn and many to learn from, I’d already seen sales from many angles.
With all this said, my main point stands: if you must be taught to “earn” trust as a salesperson, you may be missing the bigger picture. This is to say that if you’re looking to be trusted solely to sell more, there.
I found sales as an outlet for my love of people and relationships; the human element in sales. I found that the only sale I felt comfortable with was one where it worked as a service, a way to improve a life or the life of a business.
But I’m not an idealist: a transaction is still just that: an exchange. While the saying goes that “numbers don’t lie,” there’s a story behind every figure that speaks volumes about character—for better or worse.
My takeaway is a simple one: there’s a human on the other end of every call, message, and meeting—one with their own story and goals. As a sales leader, you can’t ‘teach’ people to care about doing the right thing when no one is watching; you can only decide that on your own and surround yourself with those that strive to do the same. This is how we at Cornerstone strive to fulfill the 2nd greatest commandment, “customer obsession” (i.e. to love your neighbor as yourself).
Cornerstone Technologies | Cornerstone Technologies’ rich history of innovation has relied on two things: pride in our people, and a customer-obsessed mindset that leaves no stone unturned. Ever since becoming the go-to global backup partner for Visa in 2008, Cornerstone has been just that; our job is your vision, and we gather the right people with the best expertise to build exactly what you want. Whether it be hybrid cloud migrations, cybersecurity, managed services, or any engineering augmentation you may need, we aren’t defined by ‘one-size-fits-all,’ but rather the size of the solution that works for you. We lead with listening, and we back it up with our expertise over decades of refinement and leadership.