Your Personal Sales Style

There is no sales “style” that is winging it. It isn’t a “style” to go into a sales meeting unprepared or unable to create value for your client or dream client. That “style’ is called lazy, and it has never been effective nor has it ever been fashionable.

You aren’t making a decision around “style” decision when you decide to fish around for something personal on which to build rapport as a way to open a sales call. That is called “wasting your client’s time.” There is room to know your client on a personal level, but this approach early in a relationship subtracts from the value you need to create.

You do not have a “style” that is skipping stages in your sales process. There are verifiable outcomes that need to be gained for you and your client in order to be productive in exploring working together on an opportunity. Doing partial work isn’t a “style” decision; it’s a recipe for losing an opportunity and later, should the Gods of sales have mercy on you, failing your client should you somehow win the business.

Avoiding difficult conversations isn’t a “style” either. It’s fear. Lacking the chops necessary to have difficult conversation is a weakness. Your clients and dream clients need help dealing with difficult issues, and they trust people whose “style” is to help them deal with complex issues.

Whenever you lean on your “style” as an excuse for not doing something the way it should really be done, you are avoiding something that you fear doing or something you are just too lazy to do. These aren’t style decisions; they’re rationalizations, they’re your way of dealing with your unwillingness to improve.

You are unique. You are allowed to have a personality, and you must be human if you really want to connect with your clients. Bad choices don’t make a style.