FEATURE | SALES BEHAVIOUR
SELLING WITH EMPATHY In the second of her three-part series, SARAH HINCHLIFFE explores how the ‘six habits of highly empathic people’ can help us become better salespeople
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n part 1 (see Winning Edge 2017 No 1) we cantered through Roman Krznaric’s Six Habits of Highly Empathic People, identified in his book Empathy. Krznaric defines empathy as “the art of stepping imaginatively into the shoes of another person, understanding their feelings and perspectives, and using that to guide your actions”. We learned that we are all wired for empathy and that we must simply develop our empathic brains and skills to make it natural behaviour. If you had a go at each of the six challenges I set, you should be getting the idea. Now let’s bring the subject back from the personal perspective and give it a business angle. Krznaric confirms that empathy helps with three aspects of selling: 1 Building relationships – buying and selling are people-based activities 2 Inspiring creativity – a sure way to differentiate your offering
FIGURE 1: BUYING AND SELLING STAGES ALIGNING THE STAGES ENCOURAGES EMPATHY
Status quo
Need emerges
Define need
Access options
Address worries
Make a choice
Become important
Shape needs
Create compelling offer
Build confidence
Negotiate and close
BUYER
Provide insight and thought leadership SELLER
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ISMPROFESSIONAL.COM
23/07/2017 18:02
