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Selling is not a pushy act: Sales has moved on from the dark art of attracting people to the one with honesty and goodwill. In this article, we talk about the importance of sales in building customer relationships and helping to create a pipeline. In some cases, sales also can be about recruiting beta customers to test an early version of your product. In these circumstances, these beta customers sign up for a lower price but with the ability to contribute to product development to suit their needs.

For a startup founder, sales are of course one of the most important things. Without adequate sales, the company runs the risk of running out of money. This act of survival sometimes might make selling a pushy act because you’re so dependent on it. But a sale without value will end up causing more harm in the long run. Hence, I’d come back to this lovely quote:

Selling is not a pushy, winner-takes-all, macho act. It is an empathy-led, process-driven, and knowledge-intensive discipline. Because, in the end, people buy from people.

-Subroto Bagchi, Co-founder of Mindtree

Selling is not a pushy act

I remember the early days of business when selling was considered a mystique art. People would go from door to door. Technically if you are a suave speaker, charmer then you pretty much had the sale. For such an approach, the statement – selling is not a pushy act makes no sense.

What is sales then?

Sales by definition is an exchange of goods or services between two parties. Although at the outset it is a transactional exercise, sales have now evolved to create a deeper meaning. This meaning is through providing a customer with an exceptional quality of service and meeting the end needs of the customers. It now involves a larger discovery process than trying to be pushy or selling a transaction.

Some key words to remember about sales are:

• Empathy

• Understanding the customer

• Being passionate about the field

As a startup, you’re better equipped to approach customers with empathy. Your USP is that you are a small, agile business that can change and respond quickly. Customers don’t get this from large corporates. The most valuable asset you can bring to the table is honest relationship-building.

Listening to your customers

Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning

Bill Gates (Source)

Most quotes talk about empathy a lot when it comes to sales. If you are trying to be pushy and introduce problems which are not present – you may have already lost the sale before you began. The more you listen, the better understanding you get of the market.

I have always been inspired by a problem-solving approach – it just feels great to build a perspective and try to be genuinely helpful. True, as a start-up – I may have been trying to make a sale. But that cannot be the be-all and end-all of the conversations. If I get a better understanding of the market and look at solving the real problem than a short-term gain – I have a better chance of staying in the business.

It is the same with all relationships, isn’t it? I suppose it comes back to empathy and trying to be of genuine help because you really care. I suppose that is pretty much my view on sales. Although I still believe it is a mystique art – there are amazing people out there who can make this connection work. I certainly am not the best but have had the privilege of seeing the best in action.