What makes someone feel seen and known, and why would this be important in sales?
Empathy is all about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. A good sales person is in tune with their customer’s needs and helps tailor a solution to fit those needs. To me, I want to view my potential customer as a friend before I try to sell them anything. I would never try to pull the wool over my friend’s eyes. I wouldn’t want to trick them into buying something they don’t need. Empathy helps me view my customer as a human and not just a dollar sign.
Empathy and attunement go hand in hand when working with a customer. Being aware of their needs even helps you in the innovation process. When I know what my customer needs, I can craft a solution to meet those needs.
Amazon does an excellent job of attuning to the needs of their customer. They have an empty chair principle where in every meeting they leave one chair empty to represent their customer. Keeping their needs at the forefront of your conversations changes the dynamics of meetings, and results in more satisfied customers.
Relational selling is the most effective way to see your customer, and empathy is absolutely crucial to relating to people.
Ethan David 
Caroline Marie Dawson 
Aliyah Shelatz
I like how you said you want to view the prospect as a friend before you sell to them. That allows you to have better free flowing conversations with them while selling. I think that empathy is a vital part in the selling game.