Early on in my sales career I came across a quote by Jeffrey Gitomer that states, "If you make a sale, you can earn a commission. If you make a friend, you can earn a fortune." Its too bad this philosophy is rarely used in sales. Those who employ it, like my friend Lee White who works at Mainscape (commerical landscaping/snow removal), are the top performers and the top paid salespeople.
Lee builds genuine relationships. He doesn't worry about his quota. Lee concentrates on the value he provides to his customers and the potential orders that follow these connections. He doesn't win on price, Lee wins sales on friendship. I'm glad I've had the chance to shadow and watch people like Lee build wealth the right way. And oh by the way did I mention that Lee White doesn't cold call. How many life long friends have you made cold calling?
I believe his mantra goes like this, "make friends before you start, or don't start at all. Fortunately Lee has built an army of personal ambassadors who have a vested interest in seeing him succeed no matter what. How did he do this? I'll tell you, by "giving" first and then building genuine relationships. I'm sure there's a Lee White out there in your network who might be willing to share a few trade secrets, why not take the time and reach out.
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