Sitting next to a pair of salesmen at the Birmingham, Alabama airport
last Thursday, all they talked about was what they were going to talk
about. Yes, I was eavesdropping, yet, I couldn’t help myself given their
subject matter.
For 45 minutes, these men, most likely in their mid-30′s, focused on
all of the points they were going to make when meeting with a prospect
later in the day. Not once did they reference any questions they would
ask, fixated as they were on their beloved talking points. At one point
one them actually said, “If he says that, here’s how we’ll talk him into
changing his mind.” They clearly had a gift for gab, and were gleefully
planning to use it.
What made the situation most interesting is when I learned that these
two were with a well known global company often touted for having one
of the best sales training programs. I suspect people on the receiving
end of the kind of selling they were practicing would disagree with that
kind of acclaim.
This is selling at its worst and it is all too common. What these two
compatriots forgot was the most important factor – the customer. If
they had taken just a moment to think and discuss how the customer would
want to be treated, maybe it would have dawned on them the error of
their ways. Then again, maybe not.
Great selling begins and ends with creating a buying experience that
prospects want to have. If each and everyone of us simply took the time
to plan and create that, salespeople, in general, would not have the
poor reputation earned by people like the two I witnessed. Delivering
buying experiences instead of engaging in traditional selling is one of
the foundations of Creating a Yet, a core method in Sales Yoga.
Just because someone has the gift for gab does not mean that should
it be used on buyers. I’m sure the customers of those two men would
strongly agree.