You Need my Needs

In a sales training last week, I gave the salespeople a selling exercise in which they had to sell me something. Everyone except one salesperson started their selling exercise focused on their needs, not on mine.

In his book 'The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People,' Stephen Covey recommends 'Seek first to understand, then to be understood.' The value of this recommendation is especially relevant in sales where many ( most? ) salespeople don't properly establish the client's needs and perhaps habitually start off with their own needs instead of the client's needs. I agree that there are some challenges in establishing the client's needs, but with some acknowledgment, thought and/or an e-mail, you can improve your ability to work effectively with those challenges.