Ask any real estate agent — or a sales rep in any other field, for that matter — what ABC means, and they'll tell you.

Always.

Be.

Closing.

Controlling information

This is, of course, a reference to Glengarry Glen Ross, a '90s film about selling real estate in a bygone era.

Salesmen in the film rely on relentless persuasion and opaque motives to close deals.

They play on clients' hopes and dreams, only revealing the information about properties and the market that helps them close the sale.

With no other resources to turn to, clients are dependent on the real estate salesmen to provide the information they need to make smart purchases. The sales agents rely on informational leverage to always be closing. 

As the film demonstrates, this doesn't always bode well for the sales agent, and it creates significant risk for the clients.

Risky in its heyday, in 2013, this sales strategy is simply defunct.

Educated clients

Today's clients have virtually limitless access to information.

Rather than being leverage for salespeople, information is ubiquitous, and clients are increasingly educated about the marketplace.

Sustainable value is what clients are seeking, and their eyes are wide open. Rather than creating a barrier to closing sales, this actually creates an incredible opportunity.

Transparency

Clients are tired of the traditional sales pitch, which has created an enormous demand for long-term value and transparent partnerships.

If you won't offer that value and transparency, clients will find someone else who will — whether it's across the street or across the world.

You can see this value-based sales philosophy in place almost everywhere you look: from new media "edutainment" marketing campaigns to major corporations bringing customer service call centers back inside the U.S.

Deals aren't closed by withholding information. Rather, they're closed by freely offering information, value, innovation and long-term sustainability.

Value. Education. Sustainability. These are the tools of a business that truly understands what ABC means: always be creating (value).