Approach each customer with the idea of helping Meaning Factcheck Usage

You know, I’ve seen this Brian Tracy idea in action for years now. Approach each customer with the idea of helping them… it’s the single biggest mindset shift that separates top performers from the rest. It completely reframes the entire sales conversation from a transaction to a partnership.

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Table of Contents

• Meaning
• Explanation
• Origin & Factcheck
• Context
• Usage Examples
• FAQ

Meaning

At its core, this quote is about shifting your focus from what you’re selling to the person you’re serving. It’s the difference between being a vendor and being a trusted advisor.

Explanation

Look, when you walk into a conversation thinking “I need to close this deal,” the customer feels it. They put their guard up. It becomes a tug-of-war. But when you genuinely start by seeking to understand their world—their frustrations, their ambitions, the metrics their boss is holding them to—everything changes. You’re no longer a salesperson; you’re a problem-solver. And people love to buy from problem-solvers. They don’t feel sold to, they feel helped. And that is where the magic happens, that’s where you build not just a sale, but a loyal client.

Quote Summary

Context	Attributes
Original Language	English (4148)
Category	Business (319)
Topics	empathy (154), service (62), trust (162)
Literary Style	advisory (21), practical (133), professional (36)
Emotion / Mood	empathetic (30)
Overall Quote Score	78 (185)

Origin & Factcheck

This wisdom comes straight from Brian Tracy’s classic, “The Psychology of Selling,” which was first published back in the late 80s. It’s a cornerstone of modern sales training. While the exact phrasing is Tracy’s, the principle itself is timeless and has been echoed by countless sales leaders since.

Attribution Summary

Context	Attributes
Author	Brian Tracy (375)
Source Type	Book (4761)
Source/Book Name	The Psychology of Selling (65)
Origin Timeperiod	Contemporary (1865)
Original Language	English (4148)
Authenticity	Verified (4761)

Where is this quotation located?

Quotation	Approach each customer with the idea of helping them solve a problem or achieve a goal, not of selling a product or service
Book Details	Publication Year/Date: 1988; ISBN: 978-0785288060; Last Edition: HarperCollins, Revised Edition 2006; Number of Pages: 240
Where is it?	Chapter 4: Setting and Achieving Sales Goals, Page 66 / 240

Context

Tracy introduces this concept early in the book because it’s the foundation. He argues that all the techniques in the world—the closing tactics, the handling objections—are useless if your fundamental intention is self-serving. This mindset is the bedrock that makes all the other skills effective.

Usage Examples

Let me give you a couple of ways I’ve seen this play out.

• For a Software Sales Rep: Instead of leading with features, you ask, “Tell me about the manual process that’s eating up your team’s time each week. What would it mean if you could automate that?” You’re selling a solution to a time-and-money problem, not a software license.
• For a Financial Advisor: You don’t lead with fund performance. You ask, “What does a secure retirement look like for you? Is it traveling? Is it knowing you can help your grandkids with college?” You’re selling peace of mind, not a stock portfolio.
• For a Marketer (like us!): We don’t just sell “content.” We ask, “What’s the single biggest obstacle to generating qualified leads for your business right now?” We’re selling growth, not blog posts.

To whom it appeals?

Context	Attributes
Theme	Principle (1004)
Audiences	business owners (21), consultants (80), customer service teams (3), entrepreneurs (1092), marketers (214), sales people (293)
Usage Context/Scenario	client meetings (6), corporate presentations (6), customer relationship seminars (1), marketing strategy sessions (6), sales training (53)

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FAQ

Question: But doesn’t this take longer? I have quotas to hit.

Answer: It feels like it takes longer at first, but it actually shortens the sales cycle in the long run. You qualify prospects faster because you quickly see if you can *actually* help them, and you build trust so much quicker, which eliminates a lot of the back-and-forth.

Question: What if the customer doesn’t even know what their problem is?

Answer: That’s the beauty of it! Your job then becomes helping them *discover* and articulate the problem. You use insightful questions to guide them to their own “aha!” moment. That makes you even more valuable.

Question: How do I make this mindset feel authentic and not just another technique?

Answer: You have to genuinely believe in the value you provide. If you know, in your bones, that your product or service can make someone’s life or job better, then this isn’t a technique—it’s just the truth. Your conviction will come through.