The Sales Role Pivot

The sales role has often been seen as a pushy, often smooth talking gentlemen trying to throw a product or service down a customer’s throat. This method of selling can be referred to as the traditional model of selling, where the seller puts a lot of emphasis on the “closing stage” and less on the actual needs of the customer. Their has been a recent shift in the role of the sales person, as the success of “relationship” selling has come to fruition. Around the 1990s, Relationship selling began to take action, which is simply defined as the act of building a relationship, gaining your customer’s trust, and identifying specific needs to solve your customer’s problem. The goal in this model of relationship selling is to make sure your customer is satisfied and willing to do business with someone who cares for their individual needs. The relationship model puts more emphasis on the beginning stages of the sales process, like building trust and problem identification, and lets the closing of the sale flow more naturally. I’ve included a video below that identifies an individual making a phone call and exemplifying the traditional selling model. He has a confidence, smooth words, and assures his customer that his investment is well worth it, although he has no idea what the stock will do. He spends most of his efforts crafting a hard close to reel his customer in, without truly caring about the customer’s needs.