In a moment when AI is increasingly making headlines across industries, these two Colorado companies are doubling down on interpersonal connections during the sales process.
Although automation undoubtedly optimizes short-term workflows, sales leaders from Motili and StackHawk believe that nothing can replace human-to-human interactions in the long run. Through building trusting relationships with clients, these leaders found they were better able to understand and address their customers’ complex technical needs.
“We’re not here to sell software; we’re here to help our customers solve difficult business problems with technical solutions,” said Jeff Somers, VP of sales at StackHawk. “We have to be honest and authentic in order to do that effectively.”
For sales teams hoping to maximize their efficiency and form lasting customer relationships, these featured sales pros shared important strategies for creating memorable client exchanges and developing a culture of authenticity.
Motili’s platform enables property owners to manage their HVAC repairs and replacements.
Why is it important to prioritize building meaningful connections with customers?
In business-to-business sales, people are still doing business with other people; it’s never just two companies transacting blindly with each other. Focusing on the human element of sales provides a pathway for business to transact and, more importantly, improves the ability of two companies to partner together more productively.
Personal connections facilitate smoother business conversations, sharper expectations and more safety nets for when things go differently than planned. Meaningful connections also pave a pathway for more emotional and fulfilling business relationships.
The more that I work with customers, the more apparent it is to me just how small the world is in any given industry. You truly don’t know where or how your paths will cross again, and I’m often shocked at how powerful these connections, both personally and professionally, have become.
Personal connections facilitate smoother business conversations, sharper expectations and more safety nets for when things go differently than planned.”
What is one method that you’ve successfully used to create memorable interactions with customers?
In 2020, amid the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, we launched a challenging service program with a large customer. Both the customer and our teams knew that we had to work together closely at all levels of our respective organizations in order to achieve success.
As we got past initial bumps, we both began to recognize that there were individuals on both sides who were going above and beyond to make the program successful. We gave cross-organizational awards monthly with a lot of smiles and laughter, despite the external challenges that 2020 brought.
To commemorate a successful year-end, we co-branded a “Challenge Coin.” All employees on both sides received this token of appreciation, and we gave out more than 500 in total. Three years later, I’ve seen this coin displayed on desks, used in photos while traveling and even carried around by some as a reminder.
How do you encourage authenticity among your sales team?
Motili has a people-centered culture. We are always looking for new ways to encourage our employees’ growth, connection to the business, well-being, inclusion and engagement.
I’ve found that if you don’t emphasize creating the culture that you want, you’ll get a culture that you don’t want.
StackHawk is a SaaS company that helps engineers find and fix application security bugs.
Why is it important to prioritize building meaningful connections with customers?
Building meaningful connections with customers is paramount to how we approach growing our business. As the buying process changes and buyers become more sophisticated, sales teams who build rapport and add value will win — for both their companies and customers.
The most effective sales and customer success teams help solve important business problems. It takes meaningful connections and trust to uncover needs and pain points in order to solve those problems effectively.
People buy from people whom they like and trust, but they are also much more likely to share information with trusted representatives earlier in the sales cycle. The more that we learn from our prospective customers earlier in the cycle, the more credible we become and the better we can help solve their problems.
If we don’t develop real relationships with our customers and prospects, we become less valuable as a sales team.
What is one method that you’ve successfully used to create memorable interactions with customers?
We included fields in our customer relationship management tools for important information that helps us relate to customers better in every interaction. This information includes birthdays, kids’ names, sports teams that they follow, hobbies and more. This allows anyone from StackHawk to have more personal customer conversations, whether it’s for support, customer success or sales.
At conferences and events, we make a point of noting where and when we met someone so we can personalize our subsequent outreach. When someone gets an email or phone call that says, “We met in the elevator on the way to the reception,” or, “I sat next to you during the closing keynote and we chatted about hockey,” this makes people feel like they matter. When we help people feel like humans and not just prospects, it makes us more memorable in return.
As a result, our customers consistently tell us that they receive unusually great customer service. It’s hard to pinpoint the customer retention or add-on revenue associated with these types of activities, but qualitatively, people really appreciate being treated as a friend.
When we help people feel like humans and not just prospects, it makes us more memorable in return.”
How do you encourage authenticity among your sales team?
We ensure that authenticity and honesty are core tenets of our sales culture. Every exceptional seller counts their best customers as friends, and vice versa. I’ve known representatives who play on their customers’ adult league sports teams, have personal relationships with their families and take social vacations with them.
The most memorable example that I have is a colleague who ended up being the best man in his customer’s wedding. By focusing on human connections during the sales process, they built lifelong relationships — and sold more software along the way.
