Monthly Archives: March 2014

‘Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn’t there.
He wasn’t there again today,
I wish, I wish he’d go away…’  Hughes Mearns circa 1899

In selling, often we think and see things that simply aren’t there. They are figments of our imagination, based on fear of losing, low confidence or false perception – sales ghost stories!

Here are my top three ghost stories rolling around in the castle of our sales heads that can wipe out our chances of winning.

‘I’m not sure our solution will work’

 This is one of the most common ghost stories out there because it’s your reputation on the iine and you are wary of burning relationships.

However, most organisations provide products and solutions that work….just not 100% of the time…they’re not perfect…get over it.

You’re probably reading this on a device that has crashed, spontaneously rebooted,  not charged properly or failed to connect to the internet numerous times. (usually when your forecast is due in half an hour).

I’ll bet you still use and even rave about your technology and can’t wait to buy the next unproven piece of plastic from your favourite brand.

Bill Gates is still pretty rich even after spending  gazillions on helping to eradicate malaria. Windows and/or your hard drive never crashed on you did it, causing you to lose your entire MBA thesis overnight?  Yeah right! Yet the product was still sold and at its core the stuff works.

Ghost stories we tell ourselves that block our ability to freely discuss solutions and open up deals include :

• ‘Pete in Pre-sales just resigned – there’s no-one to do my demo so I’ll wait until the new guy arrives.’

• ‘The showroom/lab/office doesn’t have Widget X so I can’t invite the prospect in yet’

• ‘I heard a rumor from the receptionist who spoke to the Queensland Service Technician that Jane’s client in Townsville complained that our system didn’t have feature XB42 and they’re really unhappy. Best to hold off with my new client for a bit then

• I didn’t get an email back from Global Support about our new solution, so I’m certainly not going to meet with the client again until I do.

Sure…keep waiting while your competition is acting, selling their imperfect solutions.

If it’s not a ghost story and you genuinely think you’ve got a dud, ask your sales manager or MD.

If they say ‘Hold off for a bit’ then fine. Otherwise don’t  let anything stop you from exploring ideas with clients.

‘The Client is King and I am just a humble servant’

If you believe you are not at least a peer of the client in the solutions you provide, regardless of their title, you will not ask deep questions, challenge thinking or boldly jump up at the Whiteboard to share insights.

The client goes to the toilet the same way you do (well, they might scrunch or fold differently), but like you, they have kids, stress, and the same politics at work.

They have enough sycophants in the office sucking up to them so they don’t need you being all humble, seeking permission for every comment or overly using reflective questions to check back that they’re happy with how the call is progressing.

All they want is for you to sit there as an equal, have a direct open business conversation about their needs and cut the overly polite, overly respectful ‘Thank you so much’, ‘Would it be all right if’ and ‘Oooh, you are so important’ language.

‘I make more money selling Widget X , rather than Product Y, so I want to steer the client that way.’

 There’s nothing like self interest to cut off deals at the start.

Yes, by an anomaly of the flawed commission scheme you can make more money NOW by promoting one product or service over another.

The problem is a chunk of clients don’t want to be steered to your proposal that is based more on how you can buy that new Audi or take your spouse to the Maldives for a week to see if they still like having sex.

The client will pick up any bias you have –they’re not stupid and will feel you’re not listening, not engaging and not interested in their needs when you keep coming back to your favourite money making scheme.

So for every client that does go for it, many will switch off which ultimately leaves you out of a deal and out of pocket.

Exorcise the ghosts rattling around in your head. If you do, the really spooky thing is you will win more business.

If you want to learn more and sell to C Level,  join me in April for the Salient Executive Level Selling Program here:

 Salient Executive Level Selling Program

You can also email me at elliote@salientcommunication.com.au

As CEO of Salient Communication, Elliot is a sought after keynote speaker and corporate trainer who has coached and trained over 4000 people including CEOs, senior management and successful sales teams throughout Australasia and Asia including Hong Kong and Singapore.

Elliot is a specialist sales speaker for high profile corporates having spoken at over 1500 conferences, workshops and break-out sessions on presenting, selling, negotiating and pitching for leading companies such as HP, SEEK, Avaya, Hitachi , Computershare and CUB . He is renowned for ensuring sessions are engaging, interactive and relevant to winning business in competitive markets.

Elliot is based in Melbourne where he lives with his wife and two expensive children.