Green Eggs and Ham

It's a common gimmick to hand out copies of Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs & Ham" in some sales training. As you may recall, Sam-I-Am represents the prototypical salesman - he is unruffled by any objection and refuses to take no for an answer. All the while, through trains and cars and boxes with foxes Sam-I-Am just plows ahead until finally his prospect yields. The story ends well, as it turns out conveniently that the unnamed prospect loves green eggs and ham and Sam-I-Am is the hero.

Unfortunately, "Green Eggs & Ham" is exactly the kind of take-no-prisoners sales approach that reinforces every negative stereotype of a salesperson. I actually participated in a sales training program with a global information technology firm where the bulk of the agenda was focused on consultative selling (being a pure salesperson who gains trust by serving as a valued source of information), but at the beginning of the day the familiar orange copies of Dr. Seuss's book were handed out to each participant.

As preposterous as it is to think you can build trust as an advisor while at the same time hammering people into submission, many organizations operate under this schizophrenic view. But for the pure salesperson, there is only one path - in order to be credible, you have to be willing to admit to a prospect the strengths and weaknesses of your solution and in order to be seen as a trusted advisor you have to be able to point out strengths in competing solutions that may at times make for a better fit.

Before anyone gets the idea that this about sacrificing dollars at the altar of integrity, let me give you a personal example of how this approach led to a sale of over $100 Million. I was representing a small software company to representatives of a Fortune 100 company that was seeking a strategic vendor that they could acquire. Early in the process as I met with the representatives who were tasked with finding the best vendor to meet this need. From our first conversation I gave them candid feedback on what I viewed as the major strengths and weaknesses of my company and several competitors. Over the course of a couple of months they came to view me as an honest broker in the process. I always maintained that the company I represented was the best fit, but I also acknowledged areas where I felt that other vendors they were considering had a strong offering.

Late in the process the choice came down to two firms, and I got a call from one of the people in charge of the selection process. He confided to me that he believed that we were the best fit but another colleague was leaning towards a competitor. He told me what he perceived as the weaknesses of the other firm and he asked me if I could provide any information supporting his position. I was able to give him honest and accurate information that led to a decision to sign on with my firm and within 6 months acquire the company.

While we may have won the business either way, the fact that I had built credibility as an honest source of information led to the opportunity to see inside the selection process and give information that was used to swing the deal in our favor. That would never have happened if I had followed the Sam-I-Am approach.

Benevolent Influence

There are a lot of approaches taken by companies to find good salespeople, and they tend to reflect a cartoonish view of what a salesperson is - often someone who is pushy and obnoxious, dresses well but pretentiously, and has a very white smile.

I have worked with successful business leaders who make otherwise sophisticated and nuanced judgements when it comes to talent acquisition only to see them predict success for the stereotypical salesperson that they would themselves avoid in any other business or social setting. For every other position on the team, these owners want to find someone who will contribute to the overall success of the business and the team dynamic. But when it comes to sales, the approach can be summed as "Wow, this guy won't stop talking! I bet he's great at pushing people into buying. Hire him immediately, and don't ever allow him into my office or the development area again."

Even at sophisticated sales driven organizations like the major brokerage and investment firms, there is no clear consensus on what the indicators are of a person who will be successful in sales. They simply hire a lot of people and throw them to the lions with little investment or support. Most fail, and the ones who succeed did so because they somehow managed to sell. End of story.

But there really is one clear trait that is always present in a pure salesperson. It is a desire to be a benevolent influence. Ask someone what their favorite restaurant is, and most people will ponder it for a moment and give you one or two names. But there are those people who will first ask something like "for what kind of experience? a celebration? romantic evening?". Next, they will tell you in great detail about a place they have been where they had a great experience, and it sounds just like what you are looking for... in fact, they may recall the name of the bar manager whose card they got while they were there and they will certainly get that to you... and of course, if you are going to be in that area you should definitely stop by such-and-such right around the corner for a quick drink afterwards, etc. etc.

That is the power of benevolent desire to influence someone's choices for their own well being. It is the trademark of the pure salesperson, and it includes all of the elements of a well constructed sales presentation:

1. Qualification / Assessment of need - in order to recommend a restaurant to you, I need to know what you are looking for - is it a place loud and crowded (a great scene) or quiet and romantic?
2. Personalization - I'm going to tell you not about the restaurant, but about the great time I had at the restaurant and why I think you will have a great time there too.
3. Connection / Action - I want to make sure you have a great time so I am going to leverage my contacts and put you in touch with someone there who can be sure that you are well taken care of. Incidentally, this allows me the opportunity to contact you later with this information and tell you again how much I hope you enjoy my recommendation.
4. Follow On - And because I want you to have a great time, and I want you to perceive me as an expert source of advice on where to go, I am going to suggest another place nearby that would also add to your enjoyment.

Not every successful salesperson is a benevolent influencer (unfortunately), but every benevolent influencer is a great salesperson, and the higher you go in size and complexity of sale the more important it is for that core value to be present.

The First One Who Talks is Buying

It’s an old adage from the brokerage industry, and many others. In many sales conversations there is a moment of pause – often just at the point where the salesperson has asked for something. When we ask someone to do something every natural instinct is to follow up with another reason they should, but the key is to bite your tongue and wait. At that moment you have an opportunity to gain information, so use it.

The longer the pause the more uncomfortable you will become, but the longer pause also means that the prospect is thinking – processing the conversation to this point, reasoning and negotiating with themselves, and determining how to communicate what they are thinking. This is one of your best opportunities to hear honest feedback – whether there is a perceived shortcoming in your solution or if is simply now a matter of negotiation of price and terms.