Kelly Riggs - The Need for Authenticity and Relationship-Building in Sales

In this episode of Selling From The Heart, hosts Larry Levine and Darrell Amy are joined by Kelly Riggs the author of the book Counter Mentor Leadership and is a speaker and business performance coach for executives and companies throughout the United States. He is known for his leadership, sales development, and strategic planning expertise.

Kelly Riggs joins the Selling from the Heart podcast to discuss the need for authenticity and relationship-building in sales. He emphasizes the importance of character in sales professionals and the need to focus on the customer's best interests. Kelly also challenges the traditional approach to sales training, suggesting that it often results in inauthenticity and product-focused selling. He advocates for a shift towards a coaching culture and ongoing sales development to create lasting change and improve sales results.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Authenticity and character are crucial in sales, and sales professionals should prioritize the customer's best interests.

Traditional sales training often focuses too much on product knowledge and can lead to inauthentic and pushy sales tactics.

Building relationships and trust with customers should be a priority, and salespeople should focus on understanding the customer's needs and providing value.

Sales leaders should create a coaching culture and provide ongoing development for their sales teams to improve skills and behaviors.

Effective sales coaching involves ongoing support, reinforcement, and accountability to ensure that new skills are implemented and behaviors are changed.

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

"The line between a sales professional and a capable con artist is character." - Kelly Riggs

"Sales training, as it is currently practiced, simply doesn't produce the results we're looking for." - Kelly Riggs

"We turn salespeople into product pushers, and it's why customers don't like salespeople." - Kelly Riggs

"You don't build relationships in business the way you do in the real world." - Kelly Riggs

"Closing is overrated. It's about building trust and relationships." - Kelly Riggs

Learn more about Kelly:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kriggs/

Learn more about Darrell and Larry:

Darrell's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrellamy/

Larry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larrylevine1992/

Website: https://www.sellingfromtheheart.net/