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Chris McCarty (’98) is the president of Enviro Safety, one of the top PPE and safety product distributors in the United States. Recently, we asked Chris for a few tips on how to succeed in sales.

“However you drive sales — in a store, on a website, over the phone, or in the field — think about this: Your customer is guaranteed to be a human. Start by considering the human element of your customer, because people buy from the seller they know, like, and trust.

Be Known

Tell your story. Ask your customer for their story. Communicate about what you both do, how you got into the business, what you each offer, why it’s different, what you are working to achieve. Build the skills to communicate verbally. Digital messages are just that — digital, meaning eventually a machine can handle that message. Only a human can verbalize empathy, care, and sincerity, so do what only you can do to create impactful relationships.

Be Likable

Hunt for goal alignment. You should be able to look at every order and visualize mutual benefit between you and your customer — your earnings and their receipt should be well balanced. Pushing a sale for your overwhelming benefit will drive customers away. Figure out what your customer wants and why, then work your way into serving their needs the best you can at a competitive price. People like that.

Be Trustworthy

Do what you say. Yes, trust is based on honesty, but it also keys on reliability. You build trust first in your truthfulness, second in your execution. The reputation you accrue over many years can be undone by a single failure, because what you say matters, and what you do matters more. So follow through on what you promise.”

Learn more about Enviro Safety at envirosafety.com.