"There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception."

Aldous Huxley

In our time together, I'm going to encourage all of you to think differently about how you view perception.

Could opening the doors of perception inspire you to seek out and expand your understanding of reality, as you apply this to growing your sales?

Let's start by looking at the above quote in two ways and applying it to sales:

Things Known: Your everyday perception and understanding of reality, that being your client relationships and the impact this has to your sales growth.

Things Unknown: The vast realm of reality beyond your normal perception, that being gaining an understanding of the perception your clients have about you.

Why is all of this important? Because through the doors of your client's perception, lies their reality about you.

I believe that perception becomes a huge influencer in how your clients interpret and understand their reality. Their perception shapes their beliefs, emotions, and ultimately their decisions.

As a result, perception significantly impacts their experiences and interactions, both personally and professionally. By understanding and respecting their perception, this helps you become more effective in supporting, guiding and building trust.

Their perception, their reality. Change their perception, change their reality.

Understanding the relationship between perception and reality can be a powerful tool for your personal growth and client understanding.

This is going to require some critical thinking, open-mindedness, and the willingness to challenge your own perceptions to grow and adapt in an ever-changing business world.

Perception is your perspective, which is based upon your experience. Perception as defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a result of observing, it is a physical sensation interpreted in the light of experience, while perspective is a mental view or prospect.

These definitions underline the way you view things, and this is based upon your past experiences. Your reality is comprised of a series of experiences that shape the way you see things.

"Perception molds, shapes, and influences our experience of our personal reality", says Linda Humphreys, PhD, a psychologist and life, relationship, and spirituality coach. "Perception is merely a lens or mindset from which we view people, events, and things."

Dr. Humphreys says that our past experiences greatly influence how we decode things.

Certain people, things, and situations may trigger someone to interpret things through a positive or negative lens based on those past experiences.

Let's tie all of this into how salespeople are perceived within the sales world... Need I say anymore?

Your first mirror moment:

• When was the last time you've asked any one of your clients what they thought of you?

• When was the last time you've asked any one of your clients the words, they'd use to describe you and how you've been taken care of them?

What concerns me is how many salespeople and their leadership have taken their clients for granted. They've flat out failed at building, nurturing and growing their client relationships.

Next time you have a conversation with one of your clients, ask yourself this question:

Am I being viewed as a sales rep or a sales professional?

PERCEPTION... IS THIS YOUR CLIENTS' REALITY?

"When the trust account is high, communication is easy, instant, and effective."

Stephen R. Covey

Trust, it's the fundamental foundation in both personal and professional relationships. When trust is established, people feel safe to express their thoughts and ideas openly. Now, think about your clients.

When there's higher levels of trust, there's more honest conversation. People are more likely to share information, ask questions, and provide feedback when they believe their intentions are understood and respected. Now, think about your clients.

With trust, the likelihood of miscommunication diminishes. People are more inclined to assume positive intention, which helps prevent conflicts. Now, think about your clients.

It saddens me just how much rampant mistrust there is within the sales world.

Unfortunately, a stereotypical mindset runs wild throughout our society when it comes to salespeople.

Perception is in the eye of the beholder, and in the sales world that would be your clients.

I strongly believe that perception feedback and management become necessary for relational growth.

Relationship and promise bridges are collapsing right now, as moments of being let down are all too fresh in many of your client's mind.

Busted dreams and broken hearts have left many feeling abandoned and neglected.

This places a damper on those sales professionals who place their clients on a pedestal, placing their needs above their very own. They are faced with widespread prejudgment that they must overcome.

Your second mirror moment:

• How well do you truly know your clients and how well do they truly know you?

I'm here to inform all of you that you must gain a true understanding of your client's mindset and perception of how they view you and how you're taken care of them.

Please realize, what you say, what you do and how you approach problems with your clients will have an immediate impact to your success, and their perception of you.

CHANGE THEIR MINDSET, CHANGE THEIR PERCEPTION

Cold doses of unfiltered feedback are necessary to grow.

Feedback from your clients become the vitamins and minerals needed to build a meaningful relationship.

I'm bringing this to the surface because there just might be a monumental gap between what your clients think of you versus what you believe it to be. Let what I just shared sink in for a moment.

How your clients perceive you just might be the key that unlocks the door to exponential sales growth.

The perception your clients have of you is mission critical for driving exponential sales growth. Understanding and managing client perception can significantly impact your sales success.

Again, your client's perception embodies the opinions, feelings, and beliefs they form about you based on their interactions with you. Plain and simple.

Your third mirror moment:

• How many of you right now understand the impact this has to you?

• How many of your clients see you as being available and helpful to them?

• How many of your clients view you as being heartfelt, caring and trustworthy or inconsistent, blasé and just like all the others?

If you desire to be viewed as a sales professional, and change one's perception of you, then you must be willing to become someone who serves.

Start serving with every conversation and every interaction. Become that professional who leads with their heart and watch what starts to happen next.

Will you commit to taking massive action and put in the necessary time, energy, and heart to better understand your clients? My promise to you, if you do so, this will rapidly open the human window within your relationship.

"The secret of success is to understand the viewpoint of others."

Henry Ford

Your ability to see things from another's viewpoint is indeed a key to success. Now, think about how this applies to your client relationships.

Many of you will find this exhausting and you know what, it's Ok. We all have choices, however; those of you who choose to lead with their heart and seek to serve their clients, will immediately change how they're perceived, guaranteed.

It's retooling your mindset by committing to:

• Intentional and active listening

• Empathy

• Stewardship

• Building Community

• Fellowship

This is not a light switch you turn on then off. It's the emotional connection, the human connection and the heartfelt connection you make with each one of your client's that will soon start to change how they view you.

Serving becomes the perception game changer.

• A servant has a sincere, genuine and burning desire to serve.

• A servant digs in deep.

• A servant is laser focused in on serving the needs of the person sitting right in front of them.

• A servant minded sales professional gives a rip!

There's no greater return on investment than to serve.

This is what goes on inside the mind of a servant:

• I want to please you.

• I want to make you feel special.

• I want you to know I love having you as a client.

• Making you happy, it is my purpose, it's my pleasure.

CHANGING PERCEPTION, IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

I believe you must make it a point to understand how your clients perceive you. Not knowing, places you at risk of being replaced.

As we bring our time together to a close, here are three things to consider to change your clients perception:

1. Communicate Effectively: You must become proficient at communicating your vision, values, and expectations in a clear, concise, and compelling manner.

2. Build Trust: Perception management requires you to build trust with your clients. You must demonstrate integrity, transparency, and accountability in your actions and decisions as this will create an environment of trust and collaboration with your clients.

3. Consistency: You must become consistent in your actions and decisions. This helps build trust and credibility which enables you to prevent negative perceptions. Consistency leads to clarity. Consistency leads to confidence.

As a professional who's focused on long-term success, your main responsibility is to profitably serve your clients.

We all have choices in life. In sales, you can choose to be a sales rep, or you can choose to become a sales professional.

This is why unpacking your clients' perception of you becomes a significant factor in how you interact with their reality. It's not just about the objective truth but how they interpret and make sense of their experiences, circumstances, and the world around them.

Managing perception is important because perceptions profoundly shape behavior, relationships, and outcomes. Actively managing your client's perception provides a crystal- clear window into how they think and feel about you.

Mindset, heart set and skillset; this is the trifecta in turning your client's viewpoint into reality.

My friends, this all has a profound impact to your long-term sales sustainability.

Originally published on Larry Levine's LinkedIn.