Manifesto
Hello, shall we create your future?
My goodness that sounds a wee bit presumptuous, doesn’t it? Rest assured that’s not my actual greeting for new sales prospects. Though, if I’ve done my job you can bet that the prospect will be thinking plenty about the future at the end of our first hour together, considerably more so than they might have considered prior to the meeting. Although my prospective customer may have cast me in the role of a “salesman” who has entered their office to convey information about my product for the purposes of conducting a transaction in which they receive my product in exchange for money, my role carries considerably more significance than that. As an Ambassador of Possibilities (AoP, see note 1) I take on the responsibility of making sincere offers that will invent new futures for both of us in a series of conversations in which we dance together to ultimately achieve our mutual satisfaction. And your success.
I may carry a sales title for a software company, but I don’t sell software. I sell change. Selling change is a serious practice that goes far beyond features and benefits, beyond licenses, services and support. Selling change requires securing a commitment to transform, promising to make a future and committing to burn the ships, not look back and drive to satisfaction.
Developing such a practice requires constant learning and experimentation. Learning happens all over the place. It happens on the job, on the commute and on the weekend. It happens with peers, superiors and subordinates. Learn from mentors. Learn by mentoring. Learn from watching your competitors succeed, and fail. I learn from my mistakes, sure. I also learn from my successes(note 2).
Learning happens in formal settings too. Read books. Read blogs. Listen to podcasts and attend webinars. Learn outside of sales and outside your industry. Learn about human beings and other cultures. Learn from the classics as well as the contemporaries. However, learn with discretion. Because nobody knows what you know nor does anyone else have the capacity to put your lessons learned into practice with your perspective and in your circumstances.
Learn in the way that you learn best
Most importantly, remain curious. If you’re curious, then you ask questions. When you ask questions, you learn. Always B Learnin’, people!
Of course all the learning in the world doesn’t do an AoP any good if they can’t put it to good use as a good listener.
Wait, what?
That’s right, the best way to put your learning to good use is to listen. If you want to spout knowledge, then go teach. An AoP needs to listen to concerns as well as aspirations and understand constraints as well as resources. A learned AoP can listen on many levels, bookmarking thoughts and observations for further exploration while being patient enough not to interrupt impulsively. Nudging and guiding your customer along with a nod, a raised eyebrow or a subtle verbal cue (huh! really? woah.) Pick your spots for interjection wisely. If you feel the speaker getting off track, then ask a “how” or a “why” question, followed by another “what” question that’s better aligned with the desired discussion.
Creating a future requires a lot of moving parts!
This blog will cover lots lessons that I’ve learned in years past and in days past. I’m happy to share my best practices and bad habits. We’ll talk about ways to experiment at scale, and at Happy Hour. I’ll share what I’m seeing in the field and comment on the challenges you share with me. And we will talk about wins. Winning is wonderful, but it’s also waning. We’re never more vulnerable than when we’re on top.
When we walk into a sales meeting, full of learning, full of perspective and ready to invent a future, then we’re at our absolute best.
So how about it?
Let’s create that future or ours.
_
It was Chauncey Bell that first shared this absolutely delicious term with me. Chauncey though, will defer the credit to Fernando Flores. I credit and thank them both.
Did you ever get a chance to interview a customer who disqualified you from an RFP? Of course not. They won’t tell you anything! But if you happen to win an order (or an RFP, or a second meeting, or even a screening call) be sure to ask a question or two as to what got you to the next level. Learn what you did right and repeat it.