What is it that makes some salespeople outperform others? What is it that sets them apart? Whether you’re in B2B or B2C sales, account management, inside sales or field sales, there are governing principles that guide a meaningful sales process. How can we take selling philosophy and turn it into tangible sales success and increased revenue from closing deals? 

There’s no “secret sauce,” but rather an approach to selling that we call Other-Centered®. So many of our customers have been able to truly uplevel their sales teams’ productivity and efficiency, while rediscovering their love of selling and serving. 

We’ve interviewed a few of our long time customers about their stories, which you can hear about on our sALES with ASLAN podcast episodes:

For now, we’ll highlight three main areas, to help salespeople and sales managers with this approach:

1 – Functional Strength in Selling

There are specific sales skills and capabilities that sellers need to have, as well as an overarching approach that will govern and determine true success with customers. 

Selling is a results driven business. You have a revenue target you need to hit, a number of new accounts you need to open, etc. But there are submetrics that drive those results. 

For example, many sales teams focus on the number of appointments. But when you adopt an Other-Centered approach to selling, it becomes more about the quality of those appointments. You may not get as many appointments with prospects, but the quality of those appointments is much greater and much more likely to translate into measurable success (revenue). 

Adopting an Other-Centered approach to prospecting and selling is a shift, both for sales managers and sales reps. We asked one of our long-time customers and success stories, Robert Zeman, an Aflac District Sales Manager, what that shift was like for him and his sales team:

“It felt initially like I was totally reinventing the wheel. That was a challenge for me, but I’m so glad I stuck with it. I can’t be more excited than I am about where we’re headed.”

His team has seen, with great clarity, that the quality of the meetings their prospects take (and ask for!) is more authentic for both parties. It’s not about shoving your message down the customer’s throat. It’s about leading them to the “why,” the reason why it’s in their best interest to participate in the call or meeting, that will make your customer emotionally engaged with you and open to your recommendation. 

We hear so many success stories from customers of our sales training, being able to use our 10-30-3 approach to reinvigorate old accounts, or to call upon new ones. Sales reps, the goal is to give your customer an Other-Centered reason why they should give up a bit of their valuable time to have a brief conversation with you. 

The 10-30-3 approach is a framework to help sales reps structure and advance prospecting calls and emails:

• 10 seconds to break through the noise (especially important in our current virtual sales environment).
• 30 seconds to set up the reason (Other-Centered Position) they may want to listen/ answer a few questions. 
• 3 minutes to ask a few questions, that may lead to a full discovery meeting. 

Once you can engage authentically with a prospect, your Discovery will flow naturally. But it’s still crucial to follow what we call a “Discovery Roadmap” – not just a canned list of questions, but a framework for leading the Discovery meeting. It has 2 categories:

1 – Understanding the customer’s POV

Think about a bridge between the customer’s current state and where they want to be (i.e. the goals and objectives). What do they think that bridge looks like? How do they plan to get there? What are their problems along the path to their “destination?”

2 – Your recommendation

What do I, as the rep, need to know to determine what I recommend? It’s important to build a roadmap that is built around categories, and objectives within those categories, and come up with the questions we need to ask to uncover that information. 

Discovery meetings should be fluid conversations, so focus on the objectives and not on a canned list of rapid-fire questions. You need to talk about what the customer wants to talk about, but you need a framework to guide that.

Oftentimes, the customer doesn’t know the best way to solve their problem  –  your role, as a trusted partner, is to lead them to the best way to solve their problem(s).

With the right sales skills and tools, guided by an Other-Centered approach, ASLAN trained sales reps are finding true and fulfilling success with their customers. 

2 – Sales Rep Desire

The Other-Centered approach doesn’t just apply for the sales rep to customer relationship, it should also define the relationship between sales rep and sales manager. 

Sales managers have three essential roles: lead, manage, and coach. At ASLAN, we define those roles as follows: 

Lead for rep desire.

Manage for productivity. 

Coach for capability. 

Sales reps that are led, managed, and coached by an Other-Centered sales leaders are more fulfilled and more successful in their own role. 

Sales managers, you can’t hold your sales reps accountable, and they can’t hold themselves accountable, if you don’t have data to measure. 

So work backwards. Find out what is important to your sales team, what motivates them. If it’s an earnings increase or revenue goal, identify that specific goal and work backwards to determine what activity, how many sales/accounts need to be closed, in order to get your sales reps to their goal. Then, help them establish the specific sales skills and tools they need to accomplish it.

“That was my commitment to my team and myself, that when I got into this role, I would give them the tools to help them, more specifically to succeed.” – Robert Zeman

You need to set expectations. Whether it’s attending team meetings, mentoring a peer, or giving feedback, it’s important to foster that culture. Convey to your team, “we’re in this together” and “we will all be more successful if we collaborate and teach one another.” 

Sales managers, just as you ask your reps to provide value to their customers and prospects when selling, you need to provide value and the “why” behind the things you are asking your team to participate in. Be authentic, valuable and Other-Centered. 

3 – Joint Accountability

Selling really is a team sport, and creating a culture of joint accountability is the key. As sales reps and sales leaders, we should all be striving for a true, mutual relationship.

Building a coachable sales team is about creating a culture that encourages vulnerability, collaboration, and sharing feedback. The best leaders seek the truth about themselves and ask for feedback from their teams. 

That’s what an Other-Centered philosophy is all about. It’s not about being perfect, it’s not about winning, it’s about truly being of service to your customers and your team. 

Summing it Up

An Other-Centered approach to selling and coaching takes work, but takes those foundational steps. Don’t get stuck, it’s an exciting journey guided by important, core principles. 

“Thanks to the process of being Other-Centered, getting someone emotionally involved, and leading them to the “why,” when we do drop the ball, it’s so much easier to pick up and keep moving down the court.” – Robert Zemen

Simply put, your customers (and your sales reps) know when you have their best interest at heart and that builds both trust and engagement.