One of my company’s motivational speakers is a former Navy Seal who served on the same Seal teams as famed heroes Marcus Luttrell, Rorke Denver, and Chris Kyle. We had a discussion about the Sales process recently–specifically how everyone is a salesperson, no matter your age or your occupation. What I learned from that talk reinforced my belief that persistence does pay off. Here’s what he shared:
Whether you are trying to get an interview for a new job, reaching out to a production company for a role on a production crew, interviewing potential investors for your startup, or cold-calling potential buyers of a product or service that you’re offering, your job is that of Relationship Builder. To build a relationship with someone, you need to get to know them. And you need to learn the best way to add value to their interests, to their families, and to their business.
Relationship Building in business is a 5-step process that does not happen overnight:
A STRANGER becomes an
ACQUAINTANCE who then becomes a
FRIEND who becomes an
ALLY and eventually becomes a
BUSINESS ASSOCIATE.
Does every attempt at building a business relationship work? No way. You will get turned down all the time. But the more you throw out there, even more will come back to you. The key is to reach your fullest potential at whatever stage you’re at in this game–and then get ready to do it again but better, smarter, and stronger.