As the economy starts to reopen, companies face a delicate question: How can they sell, which is essential to their survival, but do it in a way that isn’t perceived as desperate or off-putting?
One chief revenue officer summarized the challenge: “I want to tell my team: sell, sell, sell. But I don’t want to come across as opportunistic. I want our people to be seen as helpful, not scavengers.”
We’re at an inflection point in business. We stand in a moment where every sale counts and organizational reputations are won or lost based on perceived intent. Every company needs to close sales now, but the impulse to lean on employees to simply “hit the number” is misplaced. In our 20 years of consulting for more than 120 companies, we’ve seen clear evidence that companies who help their teams develop a sense of ‘noble purpose’ around serving customers are the ones that fare best.
Here are three things leaders can do right now to jump start urgency:
Be specific and emotive about customer impact.