What is the very first thing an entrepreneur has to do when starting a business? Sell. You have to sell. When I started out as an entrepreneur, I did everything I could to sell.
So I prepared myself very carefully for appointments by looking at who the customer is, what the company is all about. Who is there? What interests do the people have? What problems do they have? How could this fit in with my offer? How can I sharpen my offer to meet the customer's needs more precisely?
If I don't sell anything, my company has no reason to exist. That was clear to me, and it hasn't changed to this day (and as you can see from my company history, it has certainly worked. But ... - I was successful because the moment I opened the door and went in to sell something to a customer, that was no longer what I had in mind. I let go of selling - I chose a different inner attitude.
"What do you think your problems are?"
The attitude I chose for myself brought me close to my counterpart: Because I went and still go into conversations with the attitude: "I want to help you solve your problem and I'm interested in you!" So I try to understand the customer and help them. What exactly does he mean? I ask them to explain the termsthat he uses in order to establish a common basis for understanding the problem. I ask questions instead of presenting my offer directly: What do you need? What do you think your problems are? What is the most urgent problem right now? What exactly are you looking for a solution to?
So I approach the contact with an attitude that focuses on understanding, building trust and finding a solution. And in the end, both sides always come out with new insights, it's a joint result - and we have understood each other. And of course it can also be the case that our own solution simply doesn't fit, that's part of the process, but then at least the customer has received value because we have given them one or two ideas or a piece of the concept along the way.
What is your attitude?
Selling may be the result, but it is not the goal. The goal is to understand whether I can develop a solution to the other person's problem together with them.
This must be meant seriously, because your counterpart will notice. Success is not a question of behavior, success is a question of attitude!
Either I can help him and then I solve his problem. If I can't solve it: Leave it alone, don't try to sell him anything.
What is your inner attitude when dealing with your customers and business partners?
This question about your inner attitude is enormously important for the success of a company because it means you recognize the importance that certain principles have for your actions and activities: Namely - as I have been able to recognize in my years of entrepreneurship - the principles of trust, learning, responsibility and results, which are important levers for you to operate successfully.
Your inner attitude does not fall from the sky, but you can choose it anew every day by aligning your own compass as a person or the compass of your company in a certain way: To understanding your counterpart, to taking an interest in them. To the benefits that can arise from this encounter. On the learning potential that you can discover together with your counterpart in order to generate sustainable success in a rapidly changing world. Attitude makes the difference - and as important as selling is for us entrepreneurs, without attitude everything is nothing. And that doesn't just apply to sales!
What new attitude are you choosing today?
Torsten Osthus