Universal Principles For Selling Professionals
Unconscious
I drift through life
Unsure of where I am
Where to go.
Conscious
I think of each choice
Considering different paths
Choose with open eyes.
The total cost of ownership
Weighs both pros and cons
Considers trade offs
Potential futures.
No longer asleep
The automated machine
Is turned off
Replaced with wakeful decision-making.
Asleep
I am dumb to the world
Decisions of ignorance are folly.
Awake
I am informed and observant
Decisions are wise and thoughtful.
Better the sage than the fool
With an ear to reality
A listening for knowledge.
Awake to the marketplace
Never underestimate the competition
Respecting their strengths
Yet keen to their weaknesses
Discovering opportunities
Ever watchful of impending threats.
Underestimating your competition
means thinking that they are evil
You destroy the three greatest things
of Patience, Simplicity, Collaboration
and become an enemy to yourself.
Brief in words
Yet long in substance
Tuned for the ear of the listener
The Master Seller makes their pitch.
Both concise and precise
Asking questions that elicit response
in search of a gap
to be filled.
They Listen and Listen.
Selling starts the minute you enter the doorway and prospects judge the seller both swiftly and harshly. In sales there are few mulligans and the first handshake is a bell that can’t be unrung. If the buyer doesn’t like you, the quality of your product or service matters little.
Next under the microscope is your company, demanding faith it is solid, trustworthy and viable. The prospect may genuinely like you, but if your company is the least bit green or sketchy, the sale is in peril.
Lastly, the thing you are selling must fit their needs. Listening,empathizing, and flashy presentations may not be adequate. What needs to be answered are the questions “Does this product or service make my life easier, does it take me to where I want to go?”
Without credibility, these questions never get asked.
Considered a stranger
The buyer is quick to judge the seller.
From dress, to speech,
from handshake to eye contact
Credibility starts.
Considered an unknown
The buyer measures the company.
From experience, to brochures,
From references , to network
Credibility proceeds.
Considered a possible solution
The buyer vets the product.
From ease of use, to flexibility,
From meeting specs, to cost
Credibility is cemented.
Seller, company and product,
This is the path to credibility.
Belief in you
The Lead wants to buy from friends
Belief in your company
The prospect can defend their choice
Belief in your products
The buyer can sleep at night.
You are a reflection
Of the power, quality
and capability to elicit belief.
This is called credibility.
Have you ever given a presentation, excited, engaged and in the moment? And then the time comes when you pause to catch your breath and like the good Master Seller ask if they have any questions? And then you look up and all you hear is the sound of crickets as your audience naps the afternoon away?
You could have a long list of features and benefits that far out weigh anything your competition can offer. But there are limits to what words can say, and you can rarely fully describe to complete precision what you’re selling with dry lists and specifications. But a quick anecdote, a little story, an example that draws upon a metaphor or common experience can make all the difference.
In the hubbub world of today, prospects quickly tire and get glassy-eyed. A great tactic is to frame a benefit in a real-life story. Start with “Have you ever been in the situation where …….” And the story ends with some frustration of life. You then proceed “Consider instead this ending…..” explaining how your solution makes everything right in the end.
Listen to what people say. Describe what you do with their stories. Make sure they fully believe you, and if they choose wisely, they will live happily ever after.
Once upon a time a salesman worked for a dairy products company that provided milking equipment for farms. One morning he was trying out his new Taoist sales techniques and he asked an open-ended question to a prospective client “How long cows should be milked?” The farmer paused and scratched his head for a moment and answered “Well………. I guess the same amount of time as the short ones.”
Were you intrigued by this story when it started “once upon a time”? Did it perk your interest? Stories intrigue buyers. Sharing an anecdote allows them to viscerally embrace what your selling. Consider common stories you’ve heard from other buyers.
What are your stories? What are your anecdotes? Do you know how long cows should be milked?
The nature of the world is beyond description
Yet stories are your greatest tools.
With the art of narrative,
the buyer identifies with your characters.
Compelling in action,
they see the struggle in their lives.
Clear in thought,
they embrace the moral of your story.
Obvious in solution,
they are drawn to your products and services.
By shedding light
on what was once nothing,
The Master Seller becomes storyteller,
Creating possibility in the buyers’ mind.
The Tao Te Ching of Sales 