SOLUTIONSKrishna C. Kalva
Closing deals is an important milestone of any business transaction that involves buying and selling. It provides confidence to the seller that they were able to successfully convey the value about the solution and convince the customer. Similarly, closing a deal is key for the customer, as they trusted the solution after having resonated with the seller and believe that the solution will drive their business forward.
For the seller, receiving coaching on how to close deals plays a key role. It will help the seller understand the customer, learn techniques to identify key messages in the flow of a conversation, articulate the message and communicate effectively to close a deal. It is generally observed that coaching on deals may not be a one-time event, as the nature of coaching required depends upon the situation, personalities, customer expectations and business dynamics.
I would like to take some inspiration from the terms “deal” and “coaching” and share my perspective on how we can personalize to bring relevance.
“Deal” is a commonly used business term. There is an underlying energy that drives every deal, with our emotions and expectations associated toward an individual or an object. Dealing with emotions implies that we are dealing with our thoughts and ideas, where our emotions and feelings turn into behaviors.
A behavior is the sum of thoughts, emotions and feelings that co-exist and are interconnected. We tend to label our association in dealing with our behaviors as success or failure depending upon how effectively we managed and personalized our energies.
The key for success is having the awareness of what kind of thoughts and emotions are running in our minds and how we feel about them. Once we have the awareness in our minds, the next step is to identify that what we think and feel are interconnected, but they don’t necessarily define us as individuals.
Of course, all that we experience in our minds is part of us, however the perceived experience is separate from us as individuals. The perceived experience may not be true as it is based on imagination or anticipation.
Our thoughts and emotions are temporary as they constantly change. To put into perspective, imagine the sky and the weather. The changing weather does not mean there is a change in the sky. The passing clouds, rain, sunshine and snow are all temporary, while the sky remains constant, dealing with the changing weather. Once we have the profound understanding of separating ourselves from our thoughts, there is clarity. Clarity on what we are experiencing inside of us and how we can radiate the energy to define our experiences externally.
Coaching plays a key role in dealing with our emotions and handling our experiences. The intrinsic belief of coaching is not to make every interaction and experience perfect or a success. In fact, the idea of coaching is to train ourselves in seeing every experience as unique and not to attach the label of success or failure.
Coaching is a continuous process that happens moment by moment, giving us the power to see the broader picture and gain perspective on the unfolding of events. Through perspective we remain present and learn to deal with every moment and experience skillfully.
Let me take your attention back to the original idea, deal coaching, two widely used and practiced words in the business world. They have a profound meaning if we put them into context in situations, both in our professional and personal lives.
A key outcome of the mental exercise is gaining perspective. Perspective that acts as a tool in facilitating what we experience and how we experience. Through perspective we can take the liberty to interchange the terms deal coaching and personalize as coaching to deal: coaching to deal with ourselves and with each other.
Coaching to deal is an iterative and continuous process to uncover how we deal with our inner energies and radiate ourselves to skillfully drive our experiences.
Krishna C. Kalva is learning solution manager at Siemens Healthineers. Email him at krishnachaitanya.kalva@siemens-healthineers.com.