First of all, I love sales. Sales is the exchange of value and I the people I get to work with all have value, and it’s great to deliver value to them. Exchange. Simple.

However, something seems to haywire when people know they have to “close a sale”. There is no question that when you have to close a sale, people can smell it – they can smell your “commission breath”. They know what you are after and the more you pursue it directly, typically, the more they resist. Also, in the old days, people would help a person hit their numbers; there’s no room for that anymore. So going directly for a deal just doesn’t work the same way it used to.

The other thing to consider is that, while we want a new client or a new transaction, ultimately, we’re want a lot more than that. Most mindful entrepreneurs that I know want to make a difference and impact the people they are working with – they want it to matter. So while the transaction is good, there is something much more important at stake.

I want you to stop trying to close deals. I want to encourage you to start opening relationships.

Sales is about exchange, and exchange is the result of trusted transactions. As a matter of fact, the more the trust, the larger the transactions. But they don’t happen without high levels of trust. The answer? Open amazing relationships and then let the transactions flow from them. There are still sales questions to be asked and answered. But now they can be both asked and answered from positions of authenticity, possibility and truly caring for what is happening for the other party.

Don’t close sales. Make a defining difference and open relationships.

Chris Venn