In today’s competitive market, customer-centric selling has become a crucial strategy for success. This article presents essential skills that can transform your sales approach, backed by insights from industry experts. Discover how to build trust, prioritize client needs, and create lasting partnerships through these proven techniques.
Build Trust Through Relatability
One skill that’s absolutely crucial in customer-centric selling is the ability to build trust through relatability—being seen not as a vendor, but as an extension of the customer’s team. In complex IT environments, decisions are rarely made quickly or in isolation. Sales success comes from developing relationships where the customer knows you understand their challenges, speak their language, and are fully invested in their success.
At Jeskell, we’ve built our team around that principle. Our teams prioritize empathy, active listening, and industry fluency in every touchpoint—whether that’s a discovery call, a follow-up email, or a strategic planning session. We train our team to approach every engagement by asking, “What would I recommend if I were on this client’s team?” That shift in mindset changes everything.
We’ve also embedded real-world use cases and insights into our sales conversations—not just product features. That helps us relate to the customer’s situation and prove we understand their environment. Over time, that consistent authenticity and value-driven approach leads to deeper, longer-lasting relationships and ultimately, stronger outcomes for both sides.
Customer-centric selling isn’t about flashy pitches—it’s about earning trust, showing up with purpose, and becoming a reliable partner in solving real problems.
Kelly Nuckolls, CMO, Jeskell Systems
Prioritize Client Needs with Active Listening
Emphasizing personalization is critical for effective customer-centric selling. This skill is developed through learning how to prioritize the needs of each client we work with. Learning how to prioritize the needs of these clients involves adjusting your investment approach based on the alignment of their short-term and long-term investing goals. Developing this skill within my team really starts with learning how to actively listen to different needs and wants. Paying attention to the details and being able to adapt to different situations and environments all aid in helping to problem-solve. This is a foundational skill that I believe is the most important for helping communicate market trends to clients and being the best educator in this industry possible.
Peter Reagan, Financial Market Strategist, Birch Gold Group
Develop Empathy to Uncover Hidden Drivers
Empathy is a critical skill for effective customer-oriented selling. It involves going beyond the customer’s words to understand their real needs and concerns. This approach allows salespeople to position their solutions in a way that addresses the customer’s hidden drivers, earns trust, and forms lasting relationships.
To develop this skill in my team, we focused on live customer interactions. I asked the team to listen to customer conversations and conduct post-call debriefs on what worked and how we could improve. By listening carefully not only to what customers were saying but also to their tone, emotions, and unexpressed fears, my team learned how to recognize silent pain points. This improved our ability to provide solutions that appealed to the customer.
For instance, we previously had a customer who operated an online shopping store where buyers were constantly abandoning their shopping carts due to a lengthy checkout process. Rather than insisting on filling those sales, we looked into the emotional and practical obstacles facing customers. This led us to minimize the process and maximize user experience, resulting in a significant increase in conversions.
Selling with empathy allows teams to build genuine relationships with customers, which is what drives success.
Josh Bluman, Co-Founder, Hoppy Copy
Listen First, Tailor Solutions Later
One of the most crucial skills in sales is being a positive and truthful communicator. Customers don’t want to feel like just another sale—they want to be heard, understood, and valued.
Many salespeople focus on selling the product rather than understanding how it solves the customer’s problem. A better approach is to start with a conversation, ask questions, and tailor the solution to their needs.
I refined this skill through one-on-one training with my boss, internal training, external training with Jeremy Miner, and continuous calls and meetings with a variety of people. These experiences taught me that communication built on trust leads to better sales relationships.
Great salespeople don’t just sell—they build relationships. When you focus on listening and adding value, customers feel confident in their decision to do business with you.
Lucy Martin, Customer Success Manager, textLIVING
Master Buyer Psychology for Effective Sales
Many salespeople lack knowledge of buyer psychology. As a result, I devote considerable time to instructing them on this topic. Rather than running the same pitch repeatedly, I assist my team in identifying factors like decision fatigue or urgency bias so they may choose the appropriate moment to ask for a sale. Moreover, we ran a session in the last quarter during which we listened to live calls to grasp emotion-related objections and then had the representatives modify their talking points accordingly.
I have also noticed that individuals choose what truly helps to finalize transactions. My team examines what buyers are not saying since they don’t always express their true thoughts. Particularly for larger accounts where relying solely on reason is insufficient, this approach enables us to win more deals more quickly.
Spencer Romenco, Chief Growth Strategist, Growth Spurt
Solve Customer Problems with Tailored Solutions
One skill that I believe is most applicable to selling to customers is problem-solving. Customers might not necessarily know the solution to their problem, but they can usually define the problem. It’s our responsibility to listen, as well as offer tailored solutions that solve for them. Whether it’s a customer concerned about the environmental footprint of a product or one looking for a solution that is kinder to the skin, the ability to immediately recognize the right solution clears the way for trust and loyalty.
To give them this capability, I ensured that they were able to feel empowered to think critically with every customer interaction. We wanted to have a more accurate representation of our products so that we would be able to offer well-educated solutions based on genuine customer feedback. We also kept conducting training sessions wherein team members were asked to pose the correct questions and probe deeper into the problem that was worrying the customer.
For example, when a customer inquired with us about the ingredients of a product, rather than just reading them out, we asked our staff to let them know why the ingredients mattered and how specifically they would help in the case of the customer. By doing so, not only did we enhance the customers’ satisfaction but also fostered better relationships. When they feel they are receiving personalized responses, they trust you and come back.
Dan Steiner, Co-Founder, Good Laundry
Ask Empathy-Driven Questions to Forge Partnerships
One underrated but highly effective skill for customer-centric selling is empathy-driven questioning—asking the right questions that show you care, not just that you want to close a deal.
I realized early on that just listening isn’t enough. So, I trained my team to dig deeper by asking thoughtful, open-ended questions like: “What’s the story behind this project?” or “What does success look like for you?” These kinds of questions not only made our clients feel heard, but they also often revealed insights the clients hadn’t even thought through yet.
We also built a habit of jotting down emotional cues during calls and using those notes to personalize follow-ups. This made our interactions warmer, more human, and far more effective.
If you can master the art of curious listening—where you ask questions with heart, not just with intent—you’ll transform a pitch into a partnership.
Kritika Kanodia, CEO, Write Right
Cultivate Genuine Curiosity in Sales Conversations
Genuine curiosity is the most valuable skill for customer-centric selling, as it transforms sales conversations from pitches into collaborative problem-solving sessions that build trust and reveal true customer needs.
When training a new account executive who was struggling with sales targets, I noticed he immediately jumped to solutions in client meetings. We recorded his next conversation (with permission) and identified that he asked only surface-level questions. After implementing a “three-layer questioning” technique where he had to uncover business context, personal motivations, and hidden constraints, his close rate improved by 40% within two months.
The selling environment has shifted dramatically toward informed buyers who are resistant to traditional sales approaches. Modern customers can spot the difference between genuine interest in their challenges and thinly disguised attempts to steer them toward predetermined solutions. This distinction often determines whether you’re viewed as a trusted advisor or just another vendor.
To develop curiosity in our sales team, we implemented “assumption-free” discovery sessions where representatives couldn’t mention our services until they’d asked at least 15 substantive questions about the prospect’s business. This practice forced them to focus completely on understanding before attempting to sell, creating a noticeable shift in how prospects engaged with them.
For businesses looking to strengthen this skill, try incorporating role-play scenarios where teammates play prospects with specific but undisclosed challenges. The salesperson must uncover these issues through questioning alone, receiving feedback on question quality and listening skills afterward.
When salespeople master genuine curiosity, they stop selling products and start solving problems—transforming the entire dynamic from overcoming resistance to building partnerships. This fundamental shift creates both immediate sales performance improvements and significantly higher customer lifetime value.
Matt Bowman, Founder, Thrive Local
Mirror Customer Communication Styles Effectively
What we leaned into was cognitive mirroring. You know how every customer has a “mode”—some are fact seekers, others are “just tell me the answer” types. We built out training scripts with built-in logic forks that match speaking styles, not just buying intents. For example, if someone uses three stats in their first sentence, we mirror them by referencing unit rates and distributor fees within 20 seconds. That opens the trust gate.
We tested this with call scripts in early 2024, splitting reps into two groups. The mirroring-trained reps converted at a 26% higher clip for high-usage households over 8 weeks. Now we run biweekly call reviews, score based on speech pattern alignment, and workshop live calls. It’s not psychology mumbo jumbo—it’s just matching the customer’s rhythm without overthinking it.
Benjamin Tom, Digital Marketing Expert and Utility Specialist, Electricity Monster
Craft Compelling Narratives to Connect Emotionally
By using compelling narratives when selling to customers, you are able to connect with them emotionally and illustrate how a product or service can solve their problems. I’ve found that this builds a lot of trust between you and the customers and helps create a solid foundation for your business relationship.
In my experience, this skill is best developed through workshops on how to craft impactful stories, practicing role-play scenarios, and even just sharing real-life customer success stories during team meetings. I’ve also seen great salespeople take storytelling a step further by providing a compelling visual.
Seamus Walsh, CEO, Westlake Tool & Die
Implement Pattern Memory for Quick Responses
Pattern memory is what we emphasize during our sales sprints. Clients usually describe their roof issues in five common narratives, and we have built a library of 32 tagged video replies to match each concern. Our representatives train on this library using a recall-based drill—they watch a 60-second client video, then pitch back the correct match from memory. It’s like flashcards, except you’re selling drone scans.
This gamified recall method started as a workaround for onboarding but turned into our main script training tool. Our SDRs now achieve a 92% video-response match rate within two weeks of joining. We have tied it into our CMS so they can send the exact match from mobile while they’re on-site. Since implementing this, average time-to-lead-touch has decreased by 38% and improved close rates in post-hail campaigns in Tarrant County.
Nathan Mathews, CEO and Founder, Roofer.com
Adapt Flexibly to Diverse Customer Needs
One ability that fuels customer-focused selling is flexibility. Each customer is unique, and their needs, desires, and issues differ. The ability to adapt quickly according to the situation is important to develop trust and provide maximum satisfaction. An inflexible sales strategy does not succeed in the current market, where customers demand tailor-made, flexible treatment.
To develop flexibility among members of my team, I emphasized ongoing training and development. We set up strict guidelines for customer interactions but urged team members to be resourceful and modify their approach based on the situation. We also stress learning from every interaction, whether it’s positive or negative, so the team continues to improve. Through sharing actual customer stories and scenarios, we’ve developed a culture where everyone is ready to adapt tactics based on the customer’s individual needs.
This strategy has paid dividends. Customers feel heard, and they appreciate the one-on-one attention they are given. It also keeps our staff ahead of the competition, as flexibility allows us to accommodate shifting customer expectations, ultimately leading to increased satisfaction and stronger loyalty. In an industry where price can frequently be comparable across the board, it’s these subtle but effective moments that create the difference.
Patrick Dinehart, CMO, ReallyCheapFloors.com
Uncover Lifestyle Desires Through Active Listening
One skill that is absolutely crucial for effective customer-centric selling is active listening. It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to “sell” a home based on features or stats, but people don’t buy stats; they buy a lifestyle, a feeling, a future. Listening lets us uncover what actually matters to someone. Are they moving to be closer to family? Do they want a backyard for their dog? Or maybe they just want to feel like they’re finally home after years of renting. That kind of insight doesn’t come from talking; it comes from tuning in.
I’ve built this into our team culture from day one. We role-play honest conversations, not scripts. We reflect on client interactions and ask: What did they really need that they didn’t say outright? Over the years, I’ve encouraged every agent on my team to slow down, listen longer, and follow up with better questions. It’s not flashy, but it’s incredibly powerful. When clients feel truly heard, that’s when trust happens, and once you have that, the sale takes care of itself.
Matt Ward, Team Lead, The Matt Ward Group
Provide Value-Driven Solutions for Lasting Partnerships
Selling any product or service is really about providing value to customers. That’s why I focus on customer-centric selling. It’s all about understanding what our customers are going through and giving them solutions that not only meet their needs but actually protect their most valuable assets. For instance, if a customer who already has auto insurance buys a new home, I’d suggest bundling it with homeowners’ insurance. This helps to simplify their life, saving them money, and building a service they can trust.
I take this technique to heart when training my team as well. We start by really listening and practicing with role-playing, dissecting real interactions with clients, and always asking ourselves: does this make our client’s life easier or safer? Cross-selling for value is something that can be helpful no matter the industry—be it retail, technology, or consulting.
The important thing is to view each interaction as part of a larger process. When identifying clients’ broader needs, you can better propose solutions that benefit them specifically. This strategy has really strengthened our connections with our clients, turning transactions into trusted partnerships.
Brent Thurman, Owner, Keystone Insurance
Connect Emotionally with Research-Backed Support
We make it a point to try and connect with our customers on an emotional level through the resources we provide. In our industry, where personal confidence is everything, understanding how our customers feel is important. For many dealing with hair loss, it’s not just about finding a treatment—they’re also looking for reassurance and support.
Either our Care team or our doctors are in direct contact with every customer. We focus on deeply understanding what patients care about and then providing genuinely helpful, research-backed content that speaks to those concerns.
Hair loss can be a sensitive issue for men, and customers often feel overwhelmed by conflicting information. Rather than pushing a hard sell, we’ve built our approach around trust. This includes blog content, FAQ pages, and even packaging inserts that explain the science behind our 3-in-1 pill and how it supports hair growth.
We developed this skill by constantly listening to customer questions, reading what they ask in reviews and forums, and testing what type of information helps them make confident decisions. Our team works closely with medical advisors to translate complex insights into simple, actionable guidance.
Paul DiMuzio, Co-Founder, Locklab
Brett Farmiloe is the founder of Featured, a Q&A platform that connects brands with expert insights.
Photo by Grooveland Designs on Unsplash
