One of the best things about a startup company and the entrepreneur running it is the learning curve that entrepreneur gets to experience. Every situation faced is new. Look back and you'll be amazed at how things that seemed like a major hurdle before you figured them out are minor now. Remember setting up your corporate structure, creating your business card, attending your first business event or speaking with your first client?

Another benefit of being in a startup, learning mode is that our ears are open more than our mouths. Similarly, it's not unusual for the newest salespeople to have a surprisingly positive result in their sales efforts. In part, that's because they're still listening to the customer instead of insisting that the customer listen to them. In fact, sales can oddly stall out right when a salesperson--who's also the entrepreneur--has really begun to grasp her pitch.

The reason is simple: The more we know, the more we want to share what we know. We grow more concerned about communicating our message than listening to the customer. Know this: The customer feels that shift in focus--and she feels like she is being "sold to."

Customers don't want to be sold. They want to make the decision themselves, not have it thrust upon them. They want to buy from someone who listens to them and demonstrates a sincere interest in solving their problems.

Truthfully, even listening isn't enough.

I want to suggest a sales philosophy that focuses on "giving" to your client. In their book The Go-Giver, Bob Burg and David Mann effectively convey five laws of success. Among these is The Law of Value, which states that "your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment."

For example, I have a vendor who has worked for me on a project basis for about a year. I pay her for hourly work that I assign to her, usually with a cap on the hours she should expend. Not only is her work impeccable, but rarely does a week go by when she doesn't send me information or a suggestion or observe a problem with my website that she shares with me. This communicates to me that she is invested in my success. Note that I have never received a bill for this extra support.

Here are some additional suggestions for increasing your value to your client:

1. Send your clients an article relevant to another aspect of their business. This shows you care about clients beyond what you do for them.
2. Every month provide a benefit to clients that they aren't paying for and aren't expecting.
3. Find your customer a customer. Nothing creates loyalty like referrals.
4. From time to time ask your customers how things are for them--"How are you handling the difficult times?"

The way to figure out how to deliver greater value than you receive in payment is to listen to a client in a way that goes beyond the process of outlining the features and benefits of your product or service.

So in your next sales meeting, I invite you to think about and take note of two things: 1. Who is doing most of the talking? and 2. How can you give more value to the client than you're asking to be paid in return?