Play to Your Inherent Strengths
Recognizing and honing your skills
By: Breandan Filbert

While I was thinking of the topic of this issue’s article (this was not the topic), I had this thought that just wouldn’t leave my head. So go with me on this for minute. Picture a Friday afternoon appointment with one of your favorite clients. The meeting is going along fairly well, but you notice your client is not as warm and friendly as he usually is. His body language is just a bit closed in with his arms crossed, he is not offering as much information about life at the top or about the recent acquisition his company made. The meeting concludes and this is where my theory begins. As you leave the meeting, you are thinking ’What is going on here?’ The weekend goes by and you are probably losing sleep thinking ’was it something I said?’ ’Did I screw up on the last order and he didn’t want to tell me?’ or perhaps, ’I wonder if he had bad news about his job?’ The possibilities are endless. This is the exact situation that will demonstrate the strengths that women have in sales. And for the guys who might be reading this (I bet you are), all of this can be learned if you are humble enough to try new ideas.

So with this scenario, let’s begin at the top:
1. Intuition - Women have a greater sensitivity to the rightness of a given situation. The very traits which drive the men in our lives nuts can prove to be great assets in a selling situation. We tend to pick up on the nuances of an interaction and worry about them if we don’t address what we are feeling if something is not quite right. When men sense that something is wrong and if they act on it at all, they will often discredit it and move on to accept the inevitability of whatever will happen. This leads toÉ
2. Bravery - In the situation I have described, we need to discover and address what is really going on, no matter how good or how bad. The call has to be made which sounds something like thisÉ “I really felt in Friday’s meeting something was going on that I missed.” It takes a brave person to do this.
3. Ego - Women have great ego strength when it comes to getting the job done. We recognize it is not really about being right; it’s about taking care of the problem. In the interaction with a prospect who is not entirely OK with a situation, we have to make sure we work to protect their ego needs. This may mean accepting responsibility for something that is not necessarily our fault. When was the last time the man in your life said, “You know what? I really think I have made a mistake here and we really need to talk about it.” Enough said?
4. Empathy - Women have a strong sense of empathy and compassion in situations. This empathy causes us to cry during sad or touching movies and is the same empathy which causes us to listen and care when our prospect tells us how the recent acquisition is causing his CEO to really look at his department for ways to cut costs. He is concerned about job security and is really glad you cared enough to ask. Can you see this situation with a man in the salesperson’s shoes?
5. Perception - Whether accurate or not, women have the ability to converse and discover the emotions involved in an issue. It is amazing what prospects will tell you if you just ask. I have never had a man I was coaching tell me, “I asked my prospect how they were doing when they looked a little down and she opened up and told me her life story.” The prospect’s perception is their reality in a selling situation. Recognize and use it to your advantage. Emotions are what drive buying decisions and he or she who is better able to get to emotion will rule the day.
6. Passion - And finally, remember that your prospect has a built-in BS detector. Women have the ability to convey their passion for an issue in a recognizable way. When you know beyond a shadow of a doubt you have the solution for your prospect that will truly make a difference in their lives, this is conveyed with enthusiasm to the prospect looking for stability in a very uncertain business climate. Your prospect senses this and their comfort level is increased in working with you.