More On Sales 2.0—And Your Help!
A week ago, I posted, “I’ve Succumbed–I’m Talking About Sales 2.0.” Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a webinar hosted by Tom Scontras of Glance Networks on this topic.
We had a great conversation! In case you missed it, you can still listen to it at Glance. If you missed it, take some time to listen sometime this weekend. It’s only about 45 minutes long. I’d love to get your comments and feedback.
Your Help!
If you are a regular reader, you know I have no shortage of opinions about sales, business, and leadership. However, I want to pause and ask for your input and ideas. I’d really appreciate it if you would take a moment to comment suggesting topics that I should write about.
In the past year, I’ve written extensively about sales process, value propositions, sales management/leadership, metrics, and customer focus. I have more that I want to add to those topics. I also plan to write quite a bit more on coaching and developing sales professionals, channels, collaboration and partnering in sales, funnel and pipeline management, sales on-boarding, and sales strategy development.
What would you like me to be writing about? Thanks for taking the time to give me your ideas. I so appreciate your comments and support, either on the blog, through your emails, or at the other sites these articles appear. Thanks for your continues support, encouragement, and ideas!
I few days ago, I started a discussion with “What Are The 3 Characteristics That Set Great Sales People Apart?” followed by “How Important Are ‘Techniques’ To Sales?” I hadn’t meant to turn this into a series (or saga), but the discussion has been very interesting. For me, it has been a bit of a journey of discovery. I’ve always had an aversion to what I call “techniques” — those 68 closing techniques, the persuasion technique and so forth.
At the same time, there are techniques or tools that I have found very helpful, questioning approaches, storytelling as a means of illustrating complex points, using humor to offset my natural clumsiness, and so forth. Somehow, these techniques have become “a part of me.” They are natural, I never have to think about them, they seem to flow with what I am trying to achieve in engaging the customer.
Perhaps my aversion to what I view as “the techniques” is that I’ve never been very good at using most of them. I get too caught up in listening to the customer and having a conversation to remember that I should be “mirroring” them or that I should be using certain neuro linguistic or psychological wording (Make sure you say their name in every sentence …. or whatever that one is). Somehow I’m too busy working with the customer defining the next steps and moving forward to remember to ask if they like German Shepherds or Saint Bernards (I think the puppy dog close goes something like that).
I wonder if being yourself counts as a technique? Somehow, I have found my customers and prospects seem to like having a conversation, they tend to appreciate directness. I have managed to stop saying “that’s the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard, “ but I chalk that up to politeness. I tend to handle that with, “Have you ever considered looking at it differently?” Maybe that’s a technique.
I think of the experiences I’ve had with people selling me something. I know they are trying to sell me something, I don’t resent it, after all I participating in the discussion. But the sales calls I appreciate the most are those great directed and focuses conversations. No pretense, no techniques (I know most of them well enough that I watch for them), just a discussion focused on what I am trying to achieve and how they can help me.
I sit in meetings in large corporations–I see selling going on in every meeting. People trying to persuade others about an idea or an approach. People discussing different things, having honest disagreements or differences but working to resolve them. People aligned to achieving common goals.
Sometimes I think we would be much more effective as sales professionals if we started simplifying things, if we had the courage to be ourselves, if we focused on natural conversations with our customers. Be sure, these aren’t random or wandering conversations. Remember, one of the characteristics that I think distinguishes top sales performers is “goal directed curiosity and a problem solving orientation.” I don’t have a lot of patience (or the requisite social graces) for random conversations. I’m interested in having great conversations with people who have problems or goals that I can do something about. I’m interested in learning what they want to achieve and demonstrating how I can help them achieve their goals better than anyone else. I tend to be very focused and direct about this and they know it. Somehow, virtually everyone seems to appreciate it—they like getting to the issues without the typical “dancing” we often do.
Let me crawl further out on the limb I’m on.
Sometimes I think we use ” the techniques” for surrogates for being ourselves and being truly engaged in having a conversations with our customers. When we aren’t curious about the customer and what they are trying to achieve, when we aren’t trying to solve problems, when we really don’t care about them other than convincing them to buy our products, it’s hard to be ourselvesa and be engaged. Perhaps this is when we use techniques. Perhaps this is a sweeping generalization and very inaccurate, but it seems those people (I hesitate to call them sales professionals) who use “the-techniques” in the most manipulative ways are those who are more focused on themselves and selling their product and less focused on me and what I need.
Techniques can be important and useful, but I think they have greatest impact when they allow the sales person to be her/himself and enable them to connect more naturally in real conversatons with the customer.
Am I crazy?
How Important Are “Techniques” To Sales?
The other day, I wrote a piece, What Are The 3 Characteristics That Set Great Sales People Apart? It stimulated quite a reaction as people started suggesting their ideas. I was surprised by the focus of a number of people on the “right techniques.” These comments started to make me wonder about my own belief system and biases.
I guess I have a very negative reaction to the concept of sales techniques. When I think of these techniques, I think of sales tricks and manipulation. I did a little research:
- Persuasion techniques like, “the art of repetition,” “the foot in the door,” “the bait and switch,” “low-ball,”that’s not all,” and the lists of techniques for persuading people can go on.
- Closing techniques like, “the assumptive close,” “the puppy dog close,” “fire sales close,” “thermometer close”, “the ultimatum close.” I actually found a site listing 68 closing techniques!
- Objection handling like, “the boomerang,” “pushback,” “deflection.”
I could go on with list after list of techniques I found in researching “sales techniques.” I went to the dictionary to look up the definition:
tech-nique [tek-neek] 1. The manner and ability with which an artist, writer, dancer, athlete, or the like employs the technical skills of a particular art or field of endeavor. 2. The body of specialized procedures and methods used in any specific field, esp. in the area of applied science. 3. Method of performance ; way of accomplishing. 4. Technical skill; ability to apply procedures or methods so as to effect a desired result.
After reading the definition, I started to think, much of the “advice” I and others I respect offer are “techniques” — or methods — or processes. After all, I’ve written a lot about effective questioning, listening, qualification, developing and communicating value. I present tools (techniques) people can use to make them more effective in connecting with and engaging customers. Likewise, there are a large number of other consultants and bloggers that offer great approaches that create real value for customers, sales professionals and others.
So why do I have such a negative reaction to “sales techniques?” I think I my negative reaction to “techniques” is not the techniques themselves (though I saw very little redeeming in the list of 68 closing techniques), but the intent or use of the technique.
So often, underlying the use of technique is an intent to manipulate, trick, or deceive. Anytime the person(s) on the receiving side of a sales person using “techniques” in these ways, everything sours. What may have been good suddenly turns distasteful.
On the other hand, techniques can be important to gaining insight and understanding about the customer. They can help you engage the customer in a conversation about their problems, dreams and goals. Techniques can be important in communicating complex ideas. They can help people understand, they can serve to simplify. Techniques can be important in helping facilitate the customer’s buying process, in helping present value, in helping manage change. They provide structure for us to work with customers, improving the way we engage them.
I suppose any tool, tip, process, methodology, and, yes, technique can be abused. Their use can be manipulative and misleading. Yet we do need techniques.
I’ll have to mull this over a little while, I’m still uncomfortable. I’m trying to talk myself into believing that techniques are good. However, I just can’t help it, whenever I hear the term “sales technique,” I immediately think of scenes from movies like Boiler-room. I think of sleazy sales people doing the “bait and switch,” followed by the “boomerang” objection handling technique, capped off by the “puppy dog close.” They trigger the worst examples of sales I can imagine.
Am I wrong on these sales techniques? Can any of you offer advice that can make me more comfortable?
Last Friday, I had the privilege of being interviewed by an executive on critical issues in buying and selling. It was a great conversation, but one of his questions stuck in my mind. He asked me, “What are the 3 characteristics that set great sales people apart from others?”
I responded, “Oh, there are so many……” He interupted, saying, “Dave, you only get to choose the top 3, no more.”
This caused me to pause, any of us can come up with lists of characteristics of great sales people, sometimes it’s half a dozen characteristics, often a dozen, sometimes the lists go on and on….. Brian’s question was really challenging, he only allowed me 3 characteristics. I thought to myself, how can I combine several into one, maybe I can create a giant run-on sentence with all sorts of adjectives describing great sales people.
After a few moments of reflecting, I provided three carefully worded phrases:
- Goal directed curiosity and a problem solving orientation.
- A genuine interest in helping people achieve their goals and dreams.
- An ability to embrace changes and to get the people they work with to embrace and own change.
Let me explain myself.
1.Goal directed curiosity and a problem solving orientation. Every great sales professional I’ve met is incessantly curious. They want to learn as much about their products and solutions as they can, they want to master them, so they can present them to their customers. They are curious about their customers–both their customers’ businesses and their customers as individuals. they study their businesses, their customers’ customers, their customers’ markets and competition. Their curiosity is not random, it’s very focused. The greatest sales people know how they can help their customers. Their curiosity is purposeful, it’s focused on trying to find problems and opportunities their customers have–that the sales person can do something about. Great sales people don’t go on random fishing expeditions, they don’t cold call–every call is carefully researched and planned, they don’t waste their customers’ or their own time. They don’t fool themselves with wishful thinking, but focus pragmatically–does the customer have a problem I can solve? Can I present and opportunity that would accelerate the ability of my customer to achieve their goals? In the end, they are about results–those they help the customer produce and those they produce for their organizations. The greatest sales people are also curious about their profession. They are constantly reading, attending workshops and seminars, talking to others they respect. They know to stay at the top of the profession–to be a top performer, that the bar is constantly being raised.
2. A genuine interest in helping people achieve their goals and dreams. Top performers care about their own performance, but they know they only way they achieve their goals is through helping the customer achieve their own–whether it is the overall business goals, their function’s departments goals, or their own personal goals. Top performers revel in seeing their customer being successful in implementing the solutions they have sold them. Top sales people never “hit and run,” if things aren’t working, they don’t ignore the customer, they go back in and do everything they can to correct things. Sometimes they can’t correct things, but the customer knows it isn’t for the lack of trying. Top sales people care!
3. An ability to embrace changes and to get the people they work with to embrace and own change. The greatest sales people in the world know that sales is fundamentally about change. We ask customers to change suppliers/vendors, to select a different product than they have been using. We ask people to change their processes, the way they do business–to explore new ways of growing being productive. We ask customers to embrace a new vision for their organizations, to consider new ways to improve or grow. The best also realize they are asking their own organizations and the people in their organizations to change–how we hold and value customers, how to create the best experiences, how to retain and grow our customers. new products and solutions we might provide to enhance our relationships and grow our business. Top sales people realize that people may fear or not understand change. They realize their role is to help people understand it, to own it, to take it on as their own mission and goal. The best in sales realized they are change managers and that they must create the same vision and excitement for change, with their customers and within their own companies, that they envision.
There’s a lot more characteristics for good sales performance. But I think these three set the best sales people in the world apart from everyone else. Do you agree? If you had only 3 characteristics to choose, which would you select?
