Become a Master Storyteller and Win More Sales

The traditional sales model as we knew it has changed. In the past, it was the salesperson who introduced a company and its services to the potential buyer. Today, however, before the salesperson even knows the prospect exists, the potential buyer is researching solutions on the Internet. The "hunter" salesperson has now become the "hunted," and more than ever before the buyer is largely in control. What was once a "sales process" has become much more of a buying process.

I like this new paradigm. I say that because I have always adhered to the sales philosophy that no one really sells anything to anybody; people make decisions to buy. I have always believed that as professional salespeople, we don't sell stuff as much as we educate the buyer, and in doing so we help them find a level of comfort so that their buying decision results in them selecting our solution. Now, with businesses evaluating products and services via the Internet, a good part of the buying process may take place before the salesperson is ever brought onto the scene.

That being the case, how does a salesperson deliver real value and differentiate himself once in front of a prospective buyer? To answer that question, we must begin by answering a deeper more cerebral question, "What is the prospect really buying?"