{"id":391,"date":"2022-09-01T15:54:40","date_gmt":"2022-09-01T10:24:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/?p=391"},"modified":"2022-09-07T20:56:18","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T15:26:18","slug":"sales-relationships-as-romcom-tropes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/sales-relationships-as-romcom-tropes\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Down Sales Relationships Using Romcom Tropes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Ask any top sales rep what their secret is, and they\u2019ll tell you &#8211; in some way, shape, or form &#8211; that it\u2019s all about relationships. Yet, navigating sales relationships can be perplexing for most people. Who is my buyer? What does my product mean to them? What\u2019s my equation with them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The questions are endless. Well, I say let\u2019s put an end to it today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ht-block-toc  is-style-outline htoc htoc--position-wide toc-list-style-plain\" data-htoc-state=\"expanded\"><span class=\"htoc__title\"><span class=\"ht_toc_title\">Table of Contents<\/span><span class=\"htoc__toggle\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\"><g fill=\"#444\"><path d=\"M15 7H1c-.6 0-1 .4-1 1s.4 1 1 1h14c.6 0 1-.4 1-1s-.4-1-1-1z\"><\/path><path d=\"M15 1H1c-.6 0-1 .4-1 1s.4 1 1 1h14c.6 0 1-.4 1-1s-.4-1-1-1zM15 13H1c-.6 0-1 .4-1 1s.4 1 1 1h14c.6 0 1-.4 1-1s-.4-1-1-1z\"><\/path><\/g><\/svg><\/span><\/span><div class=\"htoc__itemswrap\"><ul class=\"ht_toc_list\"><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-how-a-romcom-trope-helped-me-understand-my-buyer-better\">How a Romcom Helped Me Understand My Buyer Better<\/a><ul class=\"ht_toc_child_list\"><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-the-love-triangle\">1. The Love Triangle&#8230; in Sales Relationships<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-the-second-chance\">2. The Second Chance&#8230; in Sales Relationships<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-3-the-meet-cute\">3. The Meet Cute&#8230; in Sales Relationships<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-the-player-falls-in-love\">4. The Player Falls in Love&#8230; in a Sales Context<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-5-friends-to-lovers\">5. Friends to Lovers&#8230; in Sales Relationships<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-w\">What did we miss?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-how-a-romcom-trope-helped-me-understand-my-buyer-better\">How a Romcom Helped Me Understand My Buyer Better<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Look, I was no different. A few years ago, when I was in business development, I was working with a buyer most salespeople would call a tough prospect. We were in a ridiculously long-drawn sales conversation where he would alternate from high product-conviction to extreme doubt, switching his point of view almost every meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Understandably, I was scratching my head, trying to figure out how to put the deal together. Finally, I took a break and decided to watch a rerun of F.R.I.E.N.D.S to take some steam off. And boy what an epiphany I had!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Me and my buyer, we were Ross and Rachel. I realized that all the \u201cwill they, won\u2019t they\u201d could only ever lead to anticlimactic sitcom hilarity. So I decided to let go of that opportunity and I\u2019ve been sleeping better ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I now recognize that it\u2019s easier to understand sales relationships if we dissociate and take a step back. And what better way to take a step back? Having grown up watching all kinds of romantic comedies, from the cheesy kind to the cheesiest kind, I\u2019ve learnt a lot about myself, the world, and my relationship with it, through these glorious stories full of relatable cliches. And of course, that includes sales too. After all, romance and sales both have a few things in common: prospects, pursuit, and the dopamine hit of getting what you\u2019re after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without further ado, here are some common sales relationships seen through the lens of popular romance tropes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-the-love-triangle\">1. The Love Triangle&#8230; in Sales Relationships<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Did you immediately think of movies like Hunger Games, Leap Year, and She\u2019s the Man?  If you think this is an overused trope in movies, wait till you realize how often it comes up in sales.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"208\" src=\"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/giphy.gif\" alt=\"The Love Triangle in The Hunger Games\" class=\"wp-image-394\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>When a prospective buyer is on the quest for something, as they typically are, and there are two parties competing to win them over, your competitor is the other suitor. Do you stand a chance against them? Make your case! You only get one chance. Unless\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-the-second-chance\">2. The Second Chance&#8230; in Sales Relationships<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember The Notebook\u2019s legendary rain scene? The one that kept the hopeless romantics pining and chanting: \u201cIt wasn\u2019t over. It still isn\u2019t over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/200.gif\" alt=\"The Second Chance in Sales Relationships\" class=\"wp-image-396\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s possible that your buyer tried what you had to offer back in the day and simply wasn\u2019t ready for it. But since you went your different ways, you\u2019ve both evolved, and today, you\u2019re a better match than you could ever imagine. So go ahead and pursue that old flame of a buyer today, and remember &#8211; your heart can\u2019t be broken twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-3-the-meet-cute\">3. The Meet Cute&#8230; in Sales Relationships<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Before Sunrise, Annie Hall, 500 days of summer, and I\u2019m only just getting started. Bridesmaids, 50 First Dates, Notting Hill, I could link at least 10 iconic GIFs here to drive home my point, but I\u2019m not sure my editor would let that fly.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/0ad9b8cf6b9846e9ca68e6bbe5f83fed.gif\" alt=\"The meet cute in sales relationships\" class=\"wp-image-397\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>But my point is this: cliches are cliche because they work. The strategically placed meet-cute in a romcom\u2019s first act is almost as essential to a movie as its opening credits. Now there\u2019s an unwritten rule in these movies: no matter how things turn out along the way, as long as it started with a meet cute, there\u2019s a good chance there\u2019s a happy ending too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So remember to <a href=\"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/personalize-sales-emails-using-humantic-ai\/\">make your first moment count<\/a>. Even with your buyers. Especially with your buyers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-the-player-falls-in-love\">4. The Player Falls in Love&#8230; in a Sales Context<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Crazy, stupid, love, am I right? Did you see what I did there, reader? <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"498\" height=\"249\" src=\"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/ryan-gosling-crazy-stupid-love.gif\" alt=\"The player falls in love: in a sales relationships context\" class=\"wp-image-398\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Players look cool from a distance, but the closer you get, the lesser you trust them. In this trope, a player settles for a love that is healthy and abundant, instead of chasing instant rush after instant rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, in sales, if your buyer thinks you&#8217;re the same way with every prospect, you&#8217;ve got an uphill battle my friend. So treat every buyer like they\u2019re the only one you\u2019ve got. Show them you know them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-5-friends-to-lovers\">5. Friends to Lovers&#8230; in Sales Relationships<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, we have the cynical friends to lovers trope in films like When Harry Met Sally. We also can not ignore the two notable R-rated films in this category; y&#8217;know&#8230; THOSE two films, even if they switched places with each other, you couldn\u2019t tell the difference: No Strings Attached and Friends With Benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now why does this trope feel so good? Because it\u2019s the closest one to reality. You don\u2019t get meet-cutes every day. You don\u2019t get players falling in love all that often either. But friends to lovers, now that\u2019s something that\u2019s happened to most of us at some point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How does this translate to sales? The only way to close a massive deal is to win your buyer over, gradually, then suddenly. Almost all of social selling is a living embodiment of the friends to lovers trop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-w\">What did we miss?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Welp, that brings us to a close. I hope this was a comprehensive list, but if I missed anything here, please assume that it&#8217;s intentional and that it\u2019s the one that got away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to understand your buyer (which salesperson wouldn&#8217;t), it&#8217;s always good to take a step back. I&#8217;d be flattered if you came back to this blog post to make sense of it, but it&#8217;s even better if you lean back in your chair and let <a href=\"https:\/\/chrome.google.com\/webstore\/detail\/humantic-ai\/iklikkgplppchknjhfkmkjnnopomaifc?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Humantic AI<\/a> do its magic. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Navigating sales relationships can be perplexing for most. Well? Not anymore. Decipher complex sales relationships through romcom tropes you know all too well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-391","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-buyer-intelligence"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":409,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391\/revisions\/409"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/humantic.ai\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}