Selling Authentic

I was recently working with a prospect towards the end of the sales cycle.  We got down towards the end and my prospect, a division VP at a large manufacturing company, asked for a reference.  I was told that the company policy was that we should wait until there is nothing else left in the process before we provide a reference.  This policy is designed to make sure we don’t “waste” a reference call on someone who has another obstacle  When we were on the phone with the prospect, he kept asking about why we had not provided a reference.  We told him that it was our policy to wait until there was nothing else left to do because we didn’t want to “waste anybody’s time”.

The 20/60/20 rule on sales managers… If you are in sales… there is a) 20% chance that your boss is an inspiring leader, b) a 60% chance that he/she is a competent manager that “does no harm” (most of the time) and c) 20% chance that you are screwed. Look back over your career. Am I right?

To me, this is what sales should be all about.  Finding a way to reach people at a personal level… a place that everyone has, but few, especially in the business world, ever reach out and grab. Establishing this kind of vulnerability and relationship with your prospect is what can make your profession meaningful… And as a byproduct, make you a whole bunch of money.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2bLNkCqpuY

I recently talked with a prospect who had been considering my product for over a year.  'I'm new to the position and territory so I picked up the opportunity in process.  Evidently, the purchase cycle was missed last year so I didn't want us to repeat the same mistake twice so I asked what happened.  There were 2 reasons why the prospect did not buy the prior year.  One was an internal process-oriented reason that is confidential.  The other reason was that the sales person, after being brought into the process by manager/director level sponsors, flanked and ignored them upon meeting the VP (power sponsor).  Turns out the the sponsors AND the VP did not appreciate it and along with the other reason had no compelling motivation to complete the transaction and implement the solution.

Much is said in the sales world about "calling high" and "the path to power".  And, it is mostly true.  However, what happened here was a breech of trust.  Instead of building the relationship with the sponsors and leading them to help build a relationship with the VP, the sales person took the easy road, went to the VP, and ignored the sponsors.  It was more than a bad tactical move.  It defied the trust that the VP had in his people and any possible trust that the sponsors and the VP had in the sales person. Ultimately, it costs the sales person any chance of moving the solution forward.

While there are some instances where this tactic might work, thinking through the culture of the company and the relationship between the sponsor(s) and the power sponsor(s) is critical.

This week in Ki class (class that focuses on Ki development before Aikido class), we worked on an exercise whereby one person is sitting seiza (kneeling) and another puts hands on their shoulders and tries to push them over.  If the person sitting stiffens up and pushes back with a fighting mind they are easy to push over.  If they are not centered and relaxed they are easily pushed over.  Even if their intentions are to be centered and relaxed, but they are not aware enough to prepare for the initial contact they will be off balance and pushed over.  It is only when the person sitting is aware and prepared at the time of initial contact that he won't be pushed over.

So it is with sales.  And I'm not just talking about making a good first impression.  I'm talking about the initial contact in any engagement… a phone call, a meeting, even a chance meeting.

Most of us have been in meetings where we had a specific agenda.  The customer will throw out an unexpected issue.  The sales team falls off balance.  The meeting heads in a direction that is ultimately unproductive.  One of the reasons for this is that salespeople often project an inferior mental posture.  They've been taught to agree and recapitulate any opinion the customer has.  This, like the example above makes it very easy for sales people to be moved.  Also, most sales people on't prepare adequately for engagements with customers.  This also makes them easy to "move".

Think about these things for your next encounter:

• Stay calm and relaxed – frantic people are easy to "move".
• Prepare
• Don't agree or recapitulate every negative opinion a customer has
• Lead your customer 

Some of you have asked me to blog about selling in this tough economy.  Spend 30 minutes watching this video.  There is nothing left to say.

I recently participated in a meeting.  There were about 10 of us in a confrence room.  The table was full of open laptops, presumably for note taking.  Blackberrys and phones were on the table.  As we began the discussion, people would tune in and out.  When addressed some would ask that the question be repeated.  There was a point during one of the discussions that a silence came over the group.  All that could be heard was the clickety-clack of keyboards… peoples' faces were locked into their computer screens or their cell phones.  It dawned on me…

At this moment, no one was actually AT this meeting.  They were all somewhere else… thinking about or doing something else. 

This is the "other side" of technology — the apparent inability of people in the business world to be present and contribute fully to the task at hand. 

The question is: what to do about it?  I'm still thinking about how I will handle it.  Perhaps you have some ideas.