Welcome to an episode of "Winning Sales Conversations" with host David Kurkjian, where he engages with accomplished sales leader Barry Sowerwine. Listen for the advice Barry's father provided that became the foundational element that helped Barry navigate his unconventional journey from computer science to leading revenue-scale ups at high-tech startups resulting in growing one company from 18 million to 850 million.
We delve deep into the integral aspects of creating trust in sales conversations. The discussion uncovers character traits and practices that play key roles in forging successful deals and is centered around the immense power of integrity. We dissect the concept of integrity, and its direct influence on a sales professional's career trajectory.
We highlight the crucial importance of authentic human connections in sales and underline the unexpected power of consistency in doing the right thing. Furnishing a real-life example, we shed light on how genuine concern can bring about constructive resolutions in sales processes.
Stepping into the arena of benevolence, we refer to Adam Grant's book 'Give and Take', exploring the three reciprocity styles - takers, matchers, and givers. We also delve into the moral and social relevancy of sales professionals and touch upon the unfortunate prevalence of manipulation in sales.
Further discussion spotlights the misuse of practices within the sales industry and the potential of problem-solving as a tool for communicating value. Pointing to multiple studies, we affirm that givers ultimately have the upper hand, demonstrating this via spending trends, charitable behavior, and sales performance.
As we conclude, we revisit the three cornerstones for establishing trust - competence, integrity, and being other-focused, underscoring their role in empowering successful sales conversations and fostering prosperous relationships.