Universal Principles For Selling Professionals
Skill Desire Value
Three legs on the stool of success
Without one leg
There is no Balance.
Skill
What we do well
Desire
What we want to do
Value
when others appreciate your skills.
While mastering others is strength
Knowing the intersection of your self’s
skill, desire, and value is true power.
Interested
But not interrogating
Patient
Yet not wasting their time
Focused
Yet listening to what’s not being said
Optimizing
To discover a match
Respectful
Cutting to the quick.
As conceptual selling becomes more accepted, when cold calling, sales professionals commonly start by saying: “I’d like to learn a little bit about you and your business”. Although this is a step in the right direction, as a prospect it at times feels like an interrogation. Open ended questions about “my business”, that could have been easily found on the website, seem disingenuous. What the seller’s looking for is an opening to uncover some issue that they can help. It’s best to be straight with the buyer, saying exactly who you are, what you do and how you help clients. Then asking the prospect “is this an issue you’re struggling with too?” to see if they fit in that category. This optimizes the entire process and treats the buyer’s time with respect.
Respect your prospects time, remain patient yet get to the qualification question quickly, practice before calling, cut to the quick.
S
peak to the end
Beginning is an assumption.
Without a destination in mind
The journey is hard to fathom.
With map and compass
A path can be plotted,
But only if you know where you’re going.
Far too often we are thrilled to start projects with only a vague sense of how it is to be completed. Without an end goal in mind, intermediate steps cannot be formulated and soon the project becomes one in a number of “good business ideas” placed on the rubbish heap. Visualize the end, articulate it, share it with others and enroll them on your quest. The end is a very powerful tool for the Master Seller. Use it wisely.
Each Seller is responsible for many tasks
Yet all tasks are not equal.
Do the difficult ones while they are easy.
Do the key tasks while they are small.
Getting started is often the greatest struggle.
The longest sales cycle,
Begins with a single cold call.
Express yourself completely,
then keep quiet.
Be the early morning.
Let the silence ring,
patient,
open,
ready
till the answers spill.
Like a babbling stream
They share frustrations
fears
and even hopes.
If you listen,
You just might
Be able to help.
Start with quality beans
Rinse, soak and flavor.
Cover with lid and bring to boil.
Simmer gently,
Checking every so often until done.
So too treat slow opportunities,
Knowing that some deals close quick
While many close slow
Patience and tenacity are
the skills of a good cook.
Place slow moving deals on the back burner,
turn the heat on low
and keep checking.
Last night I was at the clothing store, shopping for clothes for my upcoming vacation. There was a wide selection of garments and I took a number of them into the changing room. One by one I tried each one of them on, deciding whether or not they would meet my needs. Some of the garments I kept for purchase, while the rest were placed back on the racks.
This is the same thing our prospects do when buying. They survey the products, both yours and the competition, to see if it meets their requirements. And oftentimes that means not just them, but the needs of a large number of people, with multiple roles across a large organization. Disorganized and grasping on their true needs, these prospects demand a large amount of patience and coaching. The Master Seller walk them through the process step by step. They are wise to the process, yet collaborative with a deft touch.
Sometimes you can help these folks, sometimes you can’t. They may not be ready, or they’re just tire kickers. The Master Seller is awake to reality and knows that this is the way the world works. They don’t burn bridges, they know it takes a compelling event to drive a purchase, and this moment, right now, may not be that time.
The market doesn’t take sides
It prefers neither you nor your competition.
The buyer doesn’t takes sides
They regard all vendors as suits.
The space between the market and sellers
Is an open door
Empty, and yet Sellers can enter
Opening and closing it produces opportunities.
Over thinking hastens failure
Check your ego and sell.
No urgency,
today looks like yesterday.
No change in priorities,
Tomorrow looks like today.
Defending same as, same as,
The status quo
instills fear and doubt.
Douse fear
as water douses fire,
mitigate risk,
and grease the rails of change.
Knowing deals don’t unstick themselves.
Enter each sale as a blank canvas
Paint what the prospect sees.
Some clients see their desires clearly
While others have blurred vision.
Remain patient with all.
Some buyers are honest
while others are working some angle.
The Master Seller continues with good humor,
Treating their clients as a parent would a child,
They guide according to their needs.
Over time the prospects become customers.
The Tao Te Ching of Sales 