Sales: Two schools of thought

Is sales a battlefield? Maybe in the old days, maybe for some people. But never for this gal. I'm not ever there to win a fight. I'm there to make a friend.

There are sort of two schools of thought in sales meetings. One is that you go into the meeting to take control. Almost like it is a war. “This is a battle. I’m going to pitch. I'm going to win.”

Live footage of my client going into his sales meetings

I used to work with a client who was a Portfolio Manager. Leaving investor meetings, he'd walk out all pumped up and be like, “I am so much smarter than that dude. My lead PM would crush that dude.” I'd need to remind him, you're trying to find a partner. This is not a battlefield; it's a board room. You're trying to get this person to give you money, to trust you.

Maybe that school of thought works for some people, but it's never worked for me.

The other school of thought is that you go into a meeting as an advocate, a friend, not an adversary. You don't sit on opposite sides of the table. You sit on the same side and let's be real - nobody is going to close a deal in the first meeting. That's not the freaking point. The point is to make a difference. To be a person. To see if there are opportunities to work together. To have some fun.

Pitching and winning doesn't need to be a battle. I’ve raised billions of dollars just being a person and a friend. Which school of thought is for you?