Today in class we talked about sales in a way I had never thought about it before. To me, sales is an arms length, cold, business transaction, and it is certainly not empathetic or by any means potentially rooted in the Gospel. Of course, not all sales encounters embody the characteristics that Christ had, but it was very interesting for me to think that they could.
Empathy is not something I am particularly good at, but I never thought that that could affect my professional goals/any opportunities I may have to sell in the future. Coupling this alongside the idea of lessening your own power is a very unique way to look at sales and other similar interactions. I can’t say that I can recall a sales experience in which I felt the person selling to me was utilizing these tactics, but in the future I think I will do my best to develop these ideas in my own work. Whether that is actual selling or selling of myself, after today’s class, I think that lessening my own power and exercising empathy is a great way to connect with people and maybe make a sale through a positive experience.
BoweryJE22
I agree, I have never thought about empathy being an aspect of sales. Upon further thought it does make sense! When you can empathize with someone you can truly comprehend what it is that they are going through, and will be more successful in sales.
I as well was pretty surprised when empathy was brought into the sales equation. The more I thought about it, although, the more it made sense. Ever since the first class we have been learning that sales is about relationships. Empathy plays a big role in that. Figuring out what the customer needs, and fulfilling that need whether or not it benefits your company is key in being successful.
This is a very unique way to think about sales. I also would agree with you in that there’s more potential for mutual benefit when you try to better understand where the person is coming from. Asking questions in order to better understand the person’s situation is what I think to be the first step in achieving empathetic feelings. I think it’s easy to get distracted by the transactional culture (especially in corporate America) and we tend to forget about the people behind those transactions.