The art of cultivating business relationships – A must have for a sales evangelist

So the direction of this blog and my newsletter will now official head in the direction of my expertise. We will focus on the startup sales person and what I define as the Sales Evangelist.

Sales Evangelist – One who shares the good news of a new offering without pandering or preaching; a salesperson with deep seeded beliefs in the value that their organization and its offering bring.

Today I was on a call for one of my clients. It was a simple discovery session that involved learning more about a reporting system. My client has a strong relationship with our contact and led off the call. When I was introduced, I mentioned that long ago, I had interviewed with his VP of Sales, and that a couple of my old co-workers were employed there. One, he knew well, as she worked closely with his team. This little back and forth took around 5 minutes, however in that short amount of time my stature with this prospect grew tremendously.

Why? Well first of all, the conversation was not pre-meditated; it was a natural part of what I do. This is a must for the sales evangelist. Without going into, excuse me, B— Sh—about weather, sports, where we live and the non meaningful like, we engage people at their level and build relevant rapport. While it is not pr-meditated, it requires preparation. One cannot wake up in the morning, scrub and dress, and then expect to walk into a conference room (virtual or actual) and instantly grab the attention of people you know nothing about and have nothing in common with, See, I may not have prepared for my initial conversation with the aforementioned prospect, but what I had was common ground. I had relationships with colleagues that he knew by name and by their position in the company. I also knew the in and outs of their offering. These details gave me some weight and immediately perceived value as a collaborator.

I was fortunate in this one case, and if you are in an industry long enough you will have these advantages.  This good fortune is not what makes it possible to connect with people on their level. It helps, but in many cases, especially for the young evangelist in a newly formed sector of business, there is nothing to build a relationship on but the facts. This is where research is essential. If you want to get to people on their level, you have to know their business. So, with no “ins” how can you uncover some good information?

1.      Read their annual report or articles by their marketing department.

2.      Find the C-level people on a social network like LinkedIn or FaceBook.

3.      Google their names and look for reports on the company.

4.      Study the particulars about what experts say about the company.

Look hard for details that are relevant to what your prospects responsibilities and objectives. If you do not know them, talk more to the goals of the organization.  Deliver points about their company and watch or hear the walls of indifference crumble. This is what is so important about getting through to people on their level. If we want to do business with people it is imperative that we speak on their terms in content and our terms in control. If you launch into what you know about them and theirs, they will tell you more. Now this should be in relationship to the context of the call. Sure one day you might know about Grandma Bert or little Susie, but for not until you are at that point in a relationship. If they feel you are coming on too strong, you will be dismissed and struggle to uncover what it takes to move your contact into a meaningful opportunity.

Now these skills will help any sales person excel, and in many companies they are inherent in those at the top of the stack rank. In a startup, especially a startup offering the new, it is mandatory. You can not hang your hat on the credentials of your company. You do not have dozens of stories of customers just like them. You lack the backing of a multi-million dollar advertising campaign. Frankly, all you have is about seven seconds to make an impression. Your reward for managing those seven seconds well? Seven more, ad infinitum.

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