Compassion And Connection, The 1-2 Punch To Breakthrough To The Next Level

“In compassion, when we feel with the other, we dethrone ourselves from the center of our world and we put another person there.” 

Karen Armstrong

As we start our time together, please reflect for a moment on this quote, as I ask you... Who is at the center of your sales universe?

I believe I hear many of you shouting, my clients are the center of my sales universe!

Whether you're a business owner, CEO, President, sales leader or a sales professional, your clients and how well you connect with them will determine your long-term sustainability, revenue and profits.

Your clients are undeniably one of the most precious assets you have.

Without clients would you exist in sales?

The more you understand that deep meaningful and authentic relationships with your client's matter, the more successful you will become.

Your clients smell what you're cooking or not cooking real fast.

Are you personally engaging with your clients?

Are you investing in building meaningful relationships?

Are you showing that you care?

Here at Selling from the Heart, we simply call this Giving a Rip.

CONNECTION & COMPASSION, THE 1-2 PUNCH

"We're living in miraculous times where connections are made at the blink of an eye, the tap of a thumb, and the click of a mouse. We can never replace human interaction, but these simple actions can be powerful and meaningful to those we connect with."

Christy Turlington

How well are you connecting to your clients?

The business world is riddled with technology allowing us to bridge conversations, fuel conversations and sorry to say, in some instances, replace human conversations.

Regardless of the medium by which communication occurs, the essence of conversation lies in active listening, respect for someone's viewpoints, and a willingness to engage in open and honest dialogue.

Are you engaging in open and honest communication with your clients?

Conversations are the lifeblood to connecting with your clients. Without meaningful conversations, it becomes monumentally difficult to connect.

What saddens me, what concerns me and what I find inexcusable, is how few in sales are truly connecting to their clients with any kind of meaning. I am also pointing the finger to all the executives and senior leaders who have fostered the environment by modeling the behavior.

I believe heartfelt professionals are driven by a mission to make the business world better and to help others. This all starts with compassion and connection.

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive."

Dali Lama

My challenge... If love and compassion are necessities within humanity, then what prevents salespeople, leadership and executives in bringing this to their clients?

Compassion can be distinguished by strong feelings of unconditional love, genuine sympathy and a strong willingness to help others.

The times, they are a changing. I am to inform all of you... Soft skills yield hard dollars.

COMPASSION UNLOCKS THE RELATIONAL DOOR

Ask any salesperson, sales leader, executive, and president of a company, if their client relationships matter - you will hear, a resounding, unanimous, and undeniable YES, THEY DO... then my question to all of you... What are you doing to build, nurture and grow the relationship if your client relationships matter?

What would happen if you brought compassion to your client relationships? How would this make them feel?

Would this allow you to connect with more meaning and with more substance?

Would this create incremental revenue, referrals and sustainability? If so, how would this make you feel?

My friends... Compassion is the key to unlocking the relational door.

Compassion changes everything!

The Merriam Webster dictionary defines compassion as,

"Sympathetic consciousness of other's distress together with a desire to resolve it."

In the spirit of the word compassion, this becomes synonymous with doing.

Compassion is not about material or physical things. It's about the human spirit and soul. (Start thinking about your clients right now). The spiritual definition of compassion involves acting to alleviate the suffering, of others.

Compassion comes from the Latin word “compati” which means “to suffer with.” It is more than empathy and care, it is the sincere burning desire to help someone who is suffering, and to be able to help ease their pain.

Think about all the distress and discomfort your clients could going through right now, would you know?

Selling from the Heart professionals rise up and end the suffering inflicted by all the empty suits.

Bringing compassion to the forefront, it is not for the weak at heart. It is for those professionals who care. It's for those professionals who give a rip.

Compassion calls for sales community to unite, take action and make change.

If you want to stand out from all the other empty suits and "me-too" sales reps, it can't just be about you. It must bigger than you.

"I think technology really increased human ability. But technology cannot produce compassion."

Dalai Lama

I believe a Selling from the Heart professional is deeply driven by a mission to make the business world better. Will you join the mission and the movement in bringing heart to the sales profession?

COMPASSION IS ABOUT LOVING YOUR CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS

Just curious... When was the last time you asked one of your client's their concerns, issues or even how you can help?

Imagine asking... How may I be of service and value to you, right now?

When was the last time you had a meaningful conversation that helped you understand how or what one of your clients was struggling with and why?

Compassion is truly having genuine sympathy for the hardship or suffering other people might be experiencing, and a sincere desire to ease their pain.

Let's think about this in a sales context.

How many of you show a heartfelt desire to help ease the pain from all the broken promises left behind from all the other unscrupulous sales rats?

How many of you are committed to stopping the pain and suffering caused by all the broken sales promises?

A compassionate sales professional is motivated to take action and to stop the pain inflicted by empty suits.

We can all agree, there are many ways to show compassion; however, what is most important is that it must come from the heart.

And, what comes from the heart is love. Yes, I said it, LOVE!

If you do not love your clients, I promise all of you, someone else will.

Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, best known for his book “War and Peace" notably said, “One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love.”

Duncan Coombe is Adjunct Professor of Organizational Behavior and Leadership at IMD Business School. He co-authored the award-winning book Care to Dare and advises organizations on matters relating to human growth and development.

He believes love is like an operating system.

"We have found it helpful to understand love in the business context to be something akin to a philosophy, a mindset, or an intention. This philosophy can have multiple expressions in action and behavior. In other words, there is no defined list of love behaviors or competencies. What is more, love doesn’t replace the functional elements of strategy, finance, sales, product development and HR. Rather we propose it as the idealized operating system of an organization – let’s call it LoveOS."

And lastly,

"As we know from technology, when you have a great operating system, the apps work better, independently, and in relation to each other."

Can love become the operating system by which one better connects to their clients? This would be a heck yeah!

All this to be said... A compassionate sales professional understands their clients crave to be part of something meaningful and special. They hold a deep concern for how their clients feel and what they’re getting out of working with them, especially the experience.

At Selling from the Heart, we call this an Inspirational Experience.

Bring compassion and yes, business love into your client relationships. Dig in and ask heartfelt questions.

• What do you truly expect and desire from me?
• What is one thing I can help you with right now?
• What matters to you the most?
• What can I do to better serve you?

Compassion and care over commission and deception

COMPASSION CANNOT BE FAKED

Compassionate and heartfelt salespeople seek to influence, not take advantage of their clients. They encourage. They lead with hope. They guide, acknowledge and support their clients. They smash together their efforts, skills, talents, insights, passion, enthusiasm and commitment to work because they care.

Therefore, compassionate sales professionals prioritize the well-being and satisfaction of their clients. They build trust, provide guidance, and create inspirational experiences.

Selling from the Heart professionals strive to make a meaningful difference in their clients' lives.

Bringing compassion, caring and connectivity is jet fuel for building meaningful client relationships.

My friend Bruce Kirk, who is also a member of the Selling from the Heart Insiders Group: shares wonderful insight around compassion:

"Compassion must come from the heart---it cannot be faked. The other person's best interests and well-being must be of genuine concern (Serving Truth)."

"Compassion doesn't mean we avoid the truth. In many relationships, there are often hard truths that need to be said for the relationship to deepen. But truths shared with the wrong heart can be disastrous (Selfish Truth)."

Your success is not just about closing more deals, where you sit on the sales totem pole, or the size of your last commission check; it's about how well you connect, care and have sincere compassion for clients.

As I mentioned when we kicked off our time together... Whether you're a business owner, CEO, President, sales leader or a sales professional, your clients and how well you connect with them will determine your long-term sustainability, increased profits and hitting your revenue targets.

All of you...

• Must care intensely about your clients.
• Must have compassion for your clients.
• Must connect with meaning with your clients.

When you with lead with empathy, compassion and vulnerability, you erode the negative perception caused by all the empty suits.

Originally published on LinkedIn.