Ever have a salesperson approach you and you just know that they are only interested in making a sale?
When a salesperson is more interested in the commission they will make from selling to us, than they are in helping us, they usually lose the sale and wonder why. They seem to be unaware that their prospective clients can sense that they are not looking out for them. If the salesperson realises this and then decides to link their own success, to a genuine commitment to helping others, everything changes.
Suddenly, without using any new fancy footwork, they are selling more than ever before and people are now recommending them.
Honesty signals
What the salesperson in that example needed was a change in their mindset – Not better negotiating skills. By genuinely giving the best advice and trying to help people make the right decision, they gave the honesty signals that their prospective clients are always looking for.
One of the beautiful ironies of business, is that the more we care about the marketplace, the more the marketplace cares about us.
One of the beautiful paradoxes of business, is that our own self-interest is best served by looking out for the best interests of others.