I gotta tell you, there’s a lot of bad selling going on out there.

I think I’ve lost count of the poorly written, cold emails that hit my inbox. Most describe a desire to help with my e-commerce site — but I don’t operate one.

There’s also the “lucrative partnership opportunities” from retail tech vendors.

I can easily translate that to its true meaning: open up your rolodex, make introductions, and get a cut of any deal that comes from it.

First, I don’t know anything about you or your product. Second, if you’re not much of a closer, then what shall I do with that “lucrative” 0% commission?

I guess I become irritated at this as I used to carry a quota and made a very good living from cold-calling as a B2B sales rep.

One thing that was repeatedly drilled into my brain was the need to build credibility in the sales process.

It’s not a one time thing. It needs to be done continuously, from cold call to close.

This is accomplished through a variety of means not limited to: your preparation, handling of objections and empathy.

One of the ways to flex the empathy muscle is not just to think about your customer, but to think about your customer’s customer.

Think of it this way: B2B Buyers must assess various risk factors when considering a buying decision. One risk to consider is “How will this purchase impact my customers?”

“What will customers think of my business if I buy this product/solution?”

And so on.

There are numerous examples of where a B2B buyer must consider their customer’s perception of the purchase.

Nowhere is this more pertinent than when a brand wants to sell into a wholesale partner. The brand needs to understand that a retail buyer must serve the customer of the retailer. As such, how does the product (or products) fit into their overall assortment?

Retail tech is no different. Sellers need to discuss how the software will impact the experience for the customer of the retailer.

Often times, this discussion means the seller might have to teach the retailer something about their customer that they previously did not know.

When I used to call upon small/medium retailers to sell software, I often had debates on the merits of customer loyalty programs or the emerging demand for small retailers to sell online.

This was intended to help my prospect learn something about their customers.

That, in fact, customers indeed had an affinity for loyalty programs and that they would look favorably on buying products online from a local business.

In turn, this helped my prospects make a favorable buying decision.

But here is something else to think about — bad selling prevents retailers from evolving.

Here is what I mean: Salesforce, in their recent State of Sales report, indicated that 67% of sales reps don’t expect to meet quota this year while 84% missed it last year.

On the next page of the report you find this statement:

Buyers expect trusted advisors and reps don’t show this.

Moreover, 86% of buyers say that they are more likely to buy when their goals are understood. On the other hand, almost 60% of buyers say reps don’t take the time to do this.

So, bad selling might be delaying critical buying decisions for technology and other products/services that retailers need. T

hat should signal to sellers just how important their role is and be sufficiently motivated to up their game.

After all, life is too short for bad selling.

Especially when you’re the one being sold to.