A Linkedin post from my friend Ben Norton stimulated my neurology, although I’m not sure if it’s my ego (fear & safety)— as in “Duh! – It’s so obvious”, or it’s coming from a sense of purpose.
Below, you will find exact steps to increase your B2B sales.
Ben proposes that in the realm of B2B sales within corporate settings, there’s often a disconnect between our authentic selves and the personas we adopt professionally. Totally! This discrepancy can lead to interactions that feel insincere, undermining trust and hindering meaningful connections. The traditional sales playbook, filled with tactics and strategies, seldom addresses this gap, leaving us performing rather than engaging.
Ben’s reflections on authenticity in B2B sales reinforced what we bang on about all the time: a deeper integration of our personal purpose and values into our professional lives. Authenticity, as Ben points out, is not just about being true to oneself but also about how this truthfulness translates into creating safe and trusted dialogues in business. But in my extensive insider experience as an executive coach and facilitator, VERY few individuals, teams, and organizations bother to do the relatively simple, if not easy, work to become Values-based (4X productivity) and Purpose-led (3X Growth). Now, that is mental.
As Ben says, in today’s transparent market, the authenticity of connection outweighs the cunning of persuasion, and if you and your organizational system are not profoundly, openly self-aware, how on earth do you expect to project the congruence of self-authority that creates safety and connection and leads to trust?
5 Steps To Take Before Your Next Sales Meeting
Take these 5 tangible steps in 15 minutes before your next sales meeting: Draw three columns on a piece of paper. Then:
Step 1: Ground Yourself in Your Values
Physically write down your core (3-5) values with pen in column 1. This act of writing is externalizing, and there is some science stuff about remembering 30% more of what you write on paper.
Step 2: Evaluate the Meeting’s Importance.
In column 2, evaluate, “What is truly important about this meeting for me, from the perspective of values 1, 2, 3… etc?” Identify the stakes and the outcomes you’re aiming for. Acknowledge any fears that surface and take the time to notice them. This self-awareness will prepare you for the next step.
Step 3: Identify Tensions
Recognize any tensions that exist between one value and another, and your values and the meeting’s agenda. Are there competing priorities or values at play? This recognition is crucial for navigating the meeting with integrity.
Step 4: Choose Your Approach
Consciously decide how you want to address the tensions identified, and critically write in column 3 how you want to BE in the meeting, as informed by columns 1 & 2. Determine how you wish to conduct yourself in the meeting to remain aligned with your values.Understand that this isn’t just “rolls eyes – woo-woo” talk. Research shows that spending 15 minutes on this reflective practice can lower cortisol levels by 30% (1), enhance problem-solving capabilities, and boost perceived IQ by about 20 points (2).
Step 5: Engage Authentically
Go into your meeting with this heightened clarity and calmness.You will sound, say, and display (I just made that up, it rhymes!) congruent; this will create a real feeling of safety and authenticity, and, therefore, connection—because you’ve aligned your external actions with your internal compass.
In w@nky coach speak– you have engaged your ‘inner leader’— the version of yourself that leads from a place of purpose and value, not fear and safety. Which, by the way, is correlated with profitability(2). You’re now ready to engage authentically, solve problems more effectively, and collaborate more fruitfully.
Of course, you’re finding excuses – welcome to your edge!
There might be scepticism about the feasibility of integrating such deep personal reflections into the strategic environment of B2B sales. However, the alignment of personal purpose and professional action is where true connection and effectiveness lie. Also, I do it all (most) of the time. What could have felt like awkward sales meetings organically became a chance to be myself and connect. It made it easy to help solve a problem together. It feels so nice. This approach not only fosters environments where trust and collaboration thrive but also resonates with clients, leading to more fruitful engagements.
The confluence of personal purpose, values, and professional conduct and clarity on how they align with and are reinforced by organization’s and team’s real values and purpose. Make them the bedrock of authentic connections in B2B sales. By grounding our actions in our true selves, we transcend traditional sales tactics, fostering an environment ripe for innovation, collaboration, and mutual success.
3 Questions
- Are you able to write down your personal values and purpose right now? Note—if you say yes, of course, and don’t do it—it’s really a no—prove me wrong!
- Are you able to express what that means for how you aspire to live and the impact you want to have on the world? Go on, write that down. I dare you!
- Can you explain honestly how that aligns with your team’s and/or organization’s values? You get the point.
(2)“Radical Collaboration” – Jim Tamm
(3)“Mastering Leadership” Anderson & Adams
