Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say matter to you?

After over 4300 shows in 25 years, Oprah’s final show aired recently where she mentioned that of more than 30,000 people she has interviewed, they all had one thing in common; the need to be validated.  Oprah claims that the common three questions they needed answered were:

‘Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say matter to you?’

I propose that these questions are at the heart of 21st Century sales training – the principle of exchange of value.  How well a salesperson validates their clients and prospects through skills such as listening, questioning and verifying are key to their success.  How good does it feel when someone really listens to you and understands you?  Just great!

Usually in sales, training or coaching mode I find myself doing the bulk of the validating. The other day however, was an exception. I received a delightful surprise from a guest after speaking about High Impact Selling at a Women’s Network Australia luncheon. Sandy McDonald, a specialist in social media, sent me the following article validating me and the Barrett message. Here’s her take on ‘everybody lives by selling something’.

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