In the 1992 movie Glengarry Glen Ross, a new sales manager preaches the ABCs of sales: Always Be Closing. This message is frequently repeated in sales training and with sales managers, and it spurred a wide variety of sales tactics, most of them high-pressure.
The premise behind ABC is a good one, but the reality is that most of the time it leads to unneeded pressure placed on the prospect and “selling” instead of guiding the relationship to a natural conclusion. No one likes to be sold to, and that’s what ABC feels like.
We prefer the ABN approach to sales: Always Be Networking. That doesn’t mean you immediately start talking about business to every person you meet. It does, however, mean you are constantly looking for networking opportunities and the chance to connect with someone where both people receive value from the interaction. ABN means asking good, thought-provoking, open-ended questions. It means listening to what someone tells you and actively considering how you can add value.
That value can include things like introducing the person to someone else you know where both parties can experience shared value (connecting a roofer with a real estate agent, for example). Value can also be found in sharing something you know about that person’s industry or target audience (“I just read an article about… did you see it?”) or asking questions about their business that highlight your expertise.
ABN is tactful and requires adapting to the situation. It’s acceptable to ask about someone’s line of work at a networking or business event. It’s not a good idea to lead with that type of question when you first meet someone at a campground or your child’s softball game. ABN is about people first, not business first. When you get to know the person, you’re much more likely to find natural ways to add value to the relationship, and that ultimately leads to opportunities, either with that person or the people they know.
Leave the sales ABCs in the past, and focus your efforts on ABN and you’ll find success, and relationships that foster more, and better, opportunities.
