Who are your best customers? Why are they your best customers? I will say they are probably your best customers, because you’ve been able to have a positive influence on them. Your positive influence has resulted in a positive impact and this profound impact has carried over into what they do and how they do it.
Your level of impact is a direct result of the integrity you live your life with. The person who thinks they can influence people without demonstrating integrity will find themselves with just a shallow, temporal influence. If integrity is what your influence and impact is built upon, you’ll need to first understand what integrity is and is not.
First off, integrity is framed around time but in how it is earned and how it is lost. Integrity is found in the reputation that precedes you into your next sales call. Integrity precedes you into the planning process you take when building out your next major presentation. Integrity precedes you when dealing with a customer issue no matter what the size.
Let’s put integrity into perspective. You should view integrity as having the same role in sales as motor oil has in an engine. An engine that is not lubricated will quickly stop running. The same concept applies to a salesperson who fails to live a life of integrity.
Customers are craving for integrity centered relationships. The automated, robot driven artificial intelligence kind of world we now live in is making deep relationships much harder to find. As a result, they are much more meaningful once they are found. So, what does it take to live a life of integrity? Here are 5 simple things you can do today and everyday to demonstrate integrity:
1. Do what you say you’re going to do not only to those you’ve made commitments to but also to yourself. If you tell yourself you’re going to do it, then do it.
2. Do what’s right in both good times and bad. Yes, even do what’s right when you feel like it doesn’t matter or when you think nobody is watching.
3. Place the interests and concerns of others at the forefront of your mind with every decision you make. This doesn’t necessarily mean you just do what they say you should do; you do what is right.
4. Play the long-game in your thinking and in your planning. Anybody can play the short-game, but it takes vision and strength to make a decision that’s counter to short-term needs in order to satisfy a long-term objective.
5. Never forget that your role is to positively influence and ultimately impact each person you encounter.
Sales is not a process only done by a salesperson. Sales is communication involving multiple people. The one who communicates from a foundation of integrity will be the one who has the most influence and in turn makes the biggest impact.
Don’t forget: A coach can help you excel in your sales career. Invest in yourself by checking out my coaching program today!
Copyright 2019, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Prospecting: Powerful Strategies to Find the Best Leads and Drive Breakthrough Sales Results
