Sales Training: Salesmanship and Empathy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Boye

Empathy is the real stuff.
It is a forerunner to connecting as "trying" is to such things as influencing, persuading, and "building rapport".

Empathy is a good concept and a good practice for relationships in general. But, how do you do empathy? Can most salespeople learn to be empathetic?

We do not attempt to teach empathy in our sales training courses because the concept is a bit too ambiguous � not by definition, but as a process.

Besides, most salespeople confuse empathy with their erroneous and manipulative concepts of �building rapport.�

Even Jeff, who I have no doubt is very empathetic, sprinkles his article with the word �Like� as if being liked is very important in selling (it is not). And, that gets most salespeople back to rapport.

We do know how to teach the process of establishing Deep Emotional Relationships of Mutual Trust and Respect, which contains a liberal dose of empathy. We focus on that because, for most prospects, trust and respect are the two most important buying decisions factors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacquesWerth

Empathy is a good concept and a good practice for relationships in general. But, how do you do empathy? Can most salespeople learn to be empathetic?

Maybe you should look into empathy training.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacquesWerth

Can most salespeople learn to be empathetic?

If salespeople can learn the skill of listening then yes they can learn to skill of empathy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacquesWerth

Besides, most salespeople confuse empathy with their erroneous and manipulative concepts of “building rapport.”

Maybe you're hanging around the wrong salespeople.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JacquesWerth

...as if being liked is very important in selling (it is not).

That's a good one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bridger480

That's a good one.

I had three painting contractors come to my house this summer. One was rather inept at sizing it up and giving me a price - I painted houses for a while do I knew what to look for - and his price was too low.

The other was a rapport building kind of guy calling me by my first name, making dumb jokes. being friendly in a "we gotta like each other way." and his price was way too high.

The third guy I liked as he was friendly but cut right to the bidding, he called me by my name once when we introduced ourselves - no jokes - and he gave me a price quickly which was right where it should have been. He got the job.

What he did do was listen to me and find out exactly what I wanted which was easy since I told him what I wanted and he matched it.

Empathy and rapport came from that - not from some kind of superficial template so many saleswannabes try to hold over everyone to make them fit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MitchM

Empathy and rapport came from that - not from some kind of superficial template so many saleswannabes try to hold over everyone to make them fit.

Which superficial templates? Do you have any examples?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Agent Smith

Which superficial templates? Do you have any examples?

The guy I rejected using my name too much, joking too much, trying to be my friend rather than I guy I might hire, not asking me many questions but telling me what he could do for me - all that was superficial to what I wanted.

Had his price been right and the third one's also right, I still would have gone with who I did because I didn't trust or respect the guy with the selling template.

That's one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MitchM

...because I didn't trust or respect the guy with the selling template.

That sounds more like a poor salesperson not a selling template.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bridger480

That sounds more like a poor salesperson not a selling template.

It's one-in-the-same - a poor salesman has a poor selling template.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Agent Smith

If salespeople can learn the skill of listening then yes they can learn to skill of empathy.

Shawn, could you give an example of how a person would learn empathy as a skill--or perhaps a description of the way it would be taught? What would either process, learning or teaching, actually look like with regard to instilling that change into a person who lacked empathy?

Sales Training: Salesmanship and Empathy

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