Hi Community members,

Last month, we launched the Community’s DIBs (Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging) mini-series, where three members shared how they are using Sales Navigator to be inclusive in their Virtual Selling activities and customer relationships. They attributed inclusive selling to leveraging Advanced Search to identify specific people and checking Alerts on their Sales Navigator homepage to learn more about the buyers’ backgrounds and interests. Today’s post will focus on the interactions that happen when sellers engage with buyers after understanding them better through Sales Navigator’s insights.

Remember the saying “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it” from Simon Sinek? That holds true more so today than ever, especially as buyers have access to the information they need before the initial touchpoint. Gaining their trust will not only get sellers a step closer to closing the deal but also strengthen the relationship as well, and one way to do so is to show real empathy. Buyers will know sellers have empathy when sellers see the world through the buyers’ eyes, have genuine interactions, and engage with them as a person and not as a prospect.

To help you know whether you are truly being empathetic or just showing “fluff,” here are some key points to keep in mind:

• The intent isn’t to sell, the intent is to be human.
• Empathy shouldn’t be used as a sales tool. Instead, make it a part of your everyday interactions with not just buyers but people around you.
• The buyer shouldn’t see you as someone with a sales pitch ready but rather someone who cares enough to listen attentively when they talk.
• When empathy is present, the selling process feels less like a tug-of-war and more like collaborative problem-solving between two parties with shared goals.
• Don’t forget to reach out and check in to continue the conversation after the sale.

If you would like to learn more about how to create deeper and more meaningful connections with buyers, check out the LinkedIn Learning course on Empathy for Sales Professionals. We hope these key points are great reminders to help you employ empathy and become a more inclusive seller. If you have any tips or best practices on how you show empathy in your interactions, we’d love to hear them!

Thank you and happy selling,

Eva C.