Page 6 - NBIZ October 2022

This buyer was very appreciative were sincere and genuine. The buyer with multiple tiers for the approval
as he apologized for calling me on had been working with another RE- process. Think of this when planning
a Sunday morning and thanked ALTOR® with whom he fired because future sales.
me for being willing to physically the agent wasn’t responsive as well as Currently per NAICS.com, of the
show him the correct parcel. Long coming off as rude and incompetent to total 17,566,038 U.S. businesses,
story short, the buyer did purchase the buyer. This buyer’s value drivers small businesses with 19 or less
the property even though I showed were “quality and delivery”. employees account for 95.98% of all
him a second property the next day. To connect to the “value drivers” U.S. business. Those with 1-4 employ-
We discussed the pros and cons of is often far easier than what many ees account for 78.76% of all small
both properties and did some math sales experts or sales coaches ad- businesses with under 500 employees.
respective to land improvements. vocate. First, always remember the What these statistics suggest is that
With this buyer, I undertook my words of President Teddy Roosevelt: small businesses though may not have
standard practice. First when I met “No one cares how much you know the sales volume of 500+ employee
the buyer, I presented him with my until they know how much you care.” firms; they do have potentially far
standard packet. This included every- These words alone may not secure more one-on-one personal interactions
thing from information on the land, a successful sale but may open the with the actual decision maker.
information about Dirt Road Real door. Of course, if one is selling to When one understands that “sales”
Estate, information from the AZ As- large multi-billion-dollar businesses, is the transference of feelings, he/she
sociation of Realtors, and information the caring by the buyer may not be enters the realm of emotional intel-
about AZ including open range and readily evident and there are always ligence. How salespeople recognize,
open carry. Secondly, when the buyer exceptions to human behavior. But one understand, and manage the emotions
asked questions such as the cost of a should always try. of the person across the table from us
septic systems, I answered truthfully. Next, embrace the words of Zig as well as one’s own emotions is what
Also, I acknowledged when I didn’t Ziglar who defined sales as “the trans- creates strong emotional intelligence.
know something. Lastly, which I think ference of feelings“. For those in the To successfully utilize one’s emo-
was important for the buyers’ experi- small business world, sales are often tional intelligence, one must not have
ences was I was willing to show him one-on-one with the owner of the small “tight shorts”. Getting upset about
a second property that was not my business or one of his or her designat- educating clients and not securing the
listing without any hesitation. ed employees. Small businesses, those sale is just life. Knowing a few days
During each interaction, this buyer with fewer than 20 employees, do not before a similar experience happened
said, “You are the best”. His compliments have the multiple decision makers and you connected to the value drivers
helps to know not every transaction is
successful. As the old saying goes, “no
Currently per NAICS.com, use crying over spilt milk.”
As professional salespeople, one
of the total 17,566,038 must connect with people all the time.
Who knows when that next connection
will happen? More importantly who
U.S. businesses, small businesses knows how a potential failed connec-
tion may turn into a sales connection
with 19 or less employees account down the road?
The goal of living, breathing
human beings is to make authentic
for 95.98% of all U.S. business. connections. And that connection may
start with just a smile or by answering
Those with 1-4 employees a question in a grocery store parking
lot. The sales connection opportunities
are indeed endless. N
account for 78.76% of all Leanne Hoagland-Smith is a clarity

small businesses with strategist, solving people and process
problems. As a thought leader who
challenges the status quo, she turns
under 500 employees. tomorrow’s goals into today’s results.
Follow her on Twitter @CoachLee.

6 NBIZ ■ October 2022