How do you approach a small business for a sale?

As a business development manager at Nitix, I often help my Accounts Managers train and guide my channel partners in figuring out their positioning strategies to close the deals?  As any good salesman will tell you, sincere approach is the best approach to expand business and increase revenue.

However, I want to engage my audience in a on-going discussion to learn more and improve our sales skills.  So, lets start this discussion!

What is the most important strategy you employ to gain interest from a lead for your service?