Three ways to avoid a sales culture

“I never look at deals as one deal. I look at them as a gateway to many more.” – Steve Gold, Real Estate Broker and Million Dollar Listing New York cast member

This quote is more than a nugget of gold (pun intended) for anyone in business. It’s also proof that every once in a while, we can actually learn something positive from “reality” TV. I was watching Million Dollar Listing New York when Steve Gold shared his philosophy on the deals he makes. He was weighing the pros and cons of a prospective selling opportunity. His past and future relationship with the seller was a major factor in his decision, because it served as a gateway to new business.

Relationship building often gets left out of the conversation when financial institutions discuss implementing a sales culture. That is one of the reasons so many fail at it. They are more focused on the sale and less focused on the relationship. It should be the other way around. To use a line from one of my favorite movies, “If you build it, they will come.” In this case, if you build relationships, the sales will come.

When employees don’t consider themselves sales people, selling is a turn-off. What if you framed it differently and told them you were establishing an experience culture or a culture focused on relationship building?

Here are three ways you can get your employees to sell successfully while NOT establishing a sales culture.

 

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