Liesel Mertes, an empathy consultant shaped by her personal experience of loss, shares insights on how empathy transforms sales. She discusses the importance of understanding customers beyond their immediate needs, fostering meaningful connections. Liesel emphasizes that building an empathetic culture helps sales leaders create trust and psychological safety within teams. Empathy isn't just a one-time act; it's a continuous practice essential for improved sales outcomes and workplace well-being.
Empathy in sales fosters deeper connections by allowing salespeople to understand clients' emotional challenges, leading to more meaningful relationships.
Sales leaders must cultivate a culture of empathy and psychological safety to enhance team dynamics and overall performance within their organizations.
Deep dives
The Importance of Empathy in Sales
Empathy is identified as a crucial guiding principle in the sales process, with an emphasis on its application in real-world scenarios. It highlights the need for sales professionals to understand and connect with their clients on a human level rather than merely focusing on numbers and outcomes. For example, when dealing with clients experiencing personal challenges, acknowledging their circumstances can shift the dynamic of the sales conversation. This approach allows salespeople to build better relationships and trust with their clients, ultimately leading to more meaningful engagements.
Disruptive Life Events and Sales
Sales professionals are encouraged to recognize that their clients may be navigating disruptive life events that impact their decision-making processes. An instance was shared where a client was involved in a lawsuit and facing marital issues, factors that undoubtedly affected their responsiveness to sales outreach. By adopting a more empathetic approach, such as suggesting that the sales conversation be postponed to a later date, salespeople can show respect for the client's emotional state. This not only enhances the salesperson's relationship with the client but also promotes a healthier sales environment.
Cultivating Empathy in Leadership
Sales leaders play a vital role in fostering a culture of empathy and psychological safety within their teams. Establishing trust and openness begins with simple practices like check-ins at the start of meetings, where team members can share their current emotional states using a color-coded system. This method allows leaders to better understand their team's dynamics and offer support where needed. By modeling empathetic behavior and encouraging vulnerability, leaders can create a more supportive workplace that enhances overall performance and well-being.
The Ongoing Practice of Empathy
Empathy is described as a continuous practice rather than a one-time achievement, likening it to yoga, where improvement comes with ongoing effort. Recognizing that no one is perfect, practitioners are encouraged to make incremental changes and learn from their experiences in empathetic communication. An important takeaway is the need for individuals to share their own challenges while remaining aware of their impact on others. This sharing fosters an environment where empathy can thrive, enabling both personal growth and improved relationships within a professional context.
In this solo episode, Bryan talks with empathy consultant Liesel Mertes about the transformative power of empathy in sales. Liesel shares how the loss of her daughter Mercy led her to help companies build empathetic cultures.
They explore how empathy helps salespeople understand their customers beyond the immediate problem, creating deeper, more meaningful connections. For sales leaders, fostering empathy means building trust and psychological safety within teams.
Liesel stresses that empathy is an ongoing practice, essential for driving better sales outcomes.
Curious what the Blind Zebra Sales Operating System is all about? You can learn more here.
And if you haven't already, make sure you join the Advanced Selling Podcast LinkedIn group: http://advancedsellingpodcast.com/linkedin.
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode