Most people want to do work that’s personally meaningful and connects with their values. For salespeople, this means they must be aligned with why they are selling a product or service, feel they are able to authentically engage with customers, and feel they are solving a problem for their customers.

And, this means leaving the old-style ABCs of selling, “Always Be Closing” in the past. We need a new ABCs of selling — one based on Alignment, Belief, and Consistency.

1. Alignment

Most people sell from their mind instead of their heart. Alignment is the connection from the heart to the ears to the mouth. People are missing this pathway because they haven’t taken the time to explore their core values. And they haven’t noticed if their core values are in alignment with how and what they are selling.

As a salesperson, you want to be aligned in four ways:

• First with your own core values, personal strengths, and sense of purpose;
• Next with the products or services you’re selling and the company’s mission;
• Then with your audience and its needs and wants;
• And finally with the solutions to your audience’s needs and wants.

2. Belief

We strengthen our self-belief and make it easy for our prospects to believe in us by using the Know, Like, and Trust Principle.

The Know Stage

We first introduce ourselves to the other person. The relationship needs to start slowly. During this stage, it is important to disclose something meaningful about ourselves and see if your new friend or prospective customer will do the same.

The Like Stage

During the Like stage, we find out if we are in sync with the other person. Is what we are selling likely to solve the other’s problems and meet his or her needs? During this stage, it’s important to lighten up, explore, and allow the exchange of authentic thoughts and feelings. During the Like stage, it is essential to consistently demonstrate how much we genuinely care for the other person.

The Trust Stage

We arrive at the Trust stage through being consistently reliable in practicing the activities suggested during the Like stage. Building trust requires both parties to be satisfyingly in alignment—with neither one being bent out of shape to be in a relationship with the other.

3. Consistency

The Alignment Marketing process starts slowly, yet it quickly builds momentum and snowballs into meeting a multitude of people who will become your friends and then your team members or clients. The key is being consistent daily.  We must be consistent in 3 activities:

Build your audience

Continuously meet people who match your ideal audience profile.

Engage your audience

In your communications with your audience, focus on providing the solutions to their problems and they will begin to respond to your messages.

Sell to your audience

The more consistent you are at providing valuable information and content, the faster you will gain their trust. Once trust is established, you will be the person they buy from once they are ready to buy.

The key is being consistent in your schedule of providing this information:

• Consistent in where you provide it;
• When you provide it;
• And how you provide it – so your audience can easily access it when it is convenient for them.

Include calls to action in your content to encourage them to contact you and respond quickly and you will find your prospects asking to buy from you – or just going to your website and making a purchase!

This is a winning formula that satisfies both the customer’s and seller’s needs.