How Well Do You Understand Sales?

WMMM #036 - This week I reveal a common bias and explain why it occurs and how to deal with it.

Jeff Keplar Newsletter September 30, 2023 6 min read


We Overestimate What We Think We Know

We think we understand things better than we do.

Recent research sheds light on why.

Steven Sloman, Professor of Cognitive Linguistic and Psychological Services at Brown University, found that it’s easy to mistake community knowledge for our own.

Some examples include the understanding of:

  • How a lock on a door works

  • How a zipper works

  • Why ocean waves move the way they do

  • How a toaster works

  • How coffee is made.

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being not well at all and 10 being very well), how well would you say you understand any of the five examples listed?

Please explain it out loud so that a 5th grader can understand it.

How well did that go?

In an episode of her Choiceology podcast, Dr. Katy Milkman shares the results she got when trying the test performed by Dr. Sloman in his research. She asks smart people if they know how seemingly simple mechanisms ( a lock, the zipper) work.

She explores the disconnect between how well they think they know a lock or zipper works before they actually talk it through and how well they realize they understand after they try to explain it.

Dr. Milkman asks them to rank their understanding on a scale from 1 to 10. The rankings received were 8, 9 or 10. She then asks them to explain, and after they have tried, she asks if they would change the ranking of their understanding. She receives responses of 3, 4, or 5.


Thanks a Thousand

AJ Jacobs chronicles his journey to thank every person responsible for the enjoyment he experiences with his morning coffee from Joe’s Coffee in NYC.

Thanks a Thousand is the book he wrote about it.

He initially thought this would be a relatively straightforward project.

But as he starts with the cup in front of him and works his way backward, ultimately to the plantation in South America, he discovers a complex and connected world involved in preparing his morning cup of coffee.

AJ thought he understood the process better than he did.

There is a substantial difference between what we think we understand about a thing or concept

and

what we discover we actually know when we are required to explain it.


The Illusion of Explanatory Depth

This psychological effect is known as the Illusion of Explanatory Depth.

Psychologists have classified it as a bias.

From zippers to locks to coffee to sales, this phenomenon occurs all around us.

And this is why the bias caused by the Illusion of Explanatory Depth finds its way into this week’s edition of Win More, Make More.

From Dr. Steve Sloman

Why the bias?

We think there is knowledge in our heads that isn’t there.

But it’s out there.

We live in a community of knowledge.

And we depend on others for much of the information we have. So, the bias is the result of failing to distinguish the knowledge in our minds from the knowledge that resides with others.

Why is that?

Why don’t we recognize the distinction between what we know and what we don’t?

The distinction matters in our very specialized world today, where we live on credentials and evaluate each other all the time.

But, we evolved from an environment where it just didn’t matter whether the knowledge was ours or in the minds of our other tribe members.

Most of the time, it’s not important - we’re collaborating with other people.

When making decisions, we rarely act entirely alone. We depend on others.

How can we de-bias this illusion?

Do we want to de-bias? Does it matter?

Most of the time, it doesn’t really matter.

But, there are many cases where it matters - when the examples expand beyond simple objects and concepts (zippers, locks, and coffee).


Like Sales and Selling to Enterprises

I encounter this illusion when working with technology companies with a strong Tech culture. I found a bias when it comes to understanding sales.

For clarity, by sales, I mean the understanding of how to sell technology to an enterprise, why sales don’t happen and how to fix that, what behaviors and skills are required and how to replicate those, and why a sales culture is essential and how to create and maintain one.

The bias occurs when the individual(s) running the technology company think they know how enterprise sales work more than they do.

This becomes evident not only when asked to explain it but also when they fail to produce the desired outcomes in the sales area.

And, like the examples provided by Dr. Milkman, these are smart people, intelligent individuals.

The illusion with sales is not limited to brilliant engineers or tech founders.

Here is a quote from the blog of a top venture capital firm attempting to explain why product-led growth (PLG) is superior to sales-led growth (SLG):

“During this period, software distribution was defined as “sales-led growth” with blazer-clad field sales reps taking CIOs out to fancy steak dinners in hopes of winning the RFP.”

These are brilliant people who provide an essential service in the ecosystem of software innovation that appear to be way over their skis when it comes to their understanding of selling to enterprises.

Yet, it is a widespread practice for these investors to “help” the startups in their portfolios by providing advice on all aspects of sales and selling.

From Dr. Steven Sloman

“The problem with that is hubris.”

It may explain why we feel so strongly about our positions.

Our example may explain why executives and founders with engineering backgrounds have such a significant gap between what they think they know and what they really know about sales and selling.

But the bias exists, and we must find a way to de-bias.

How?

Ask people to explain.

This is also a well-known and commonly used technique of professional salespeople.

By asking questions, sales reps enable their prospects to “self-discover” the motivation for change.

In our de-bias example, asking the “biased individual” questions enables them to “self-discover” that they don’t know what they think they do about sales. If the individual is enlightened, they allow the gap in their understanding to be revealed to them and are motivated to take action to correct the course.

Few people outside of dedicated sales professionals understand sales as well as they think they do.

Yet, all too often, sales teams are forced to follow initiatives created by those who need more understanding of selling.


But, the reverse rarely occurs.

How often have you heard of an engineering team forced to follow directions from a leader with a sales background and little understanding of software development?

Example:

“We are switching our UI component library from React to Vue because our sales leader plays video games with Evan You. He believes that Vue’s simplicity will win the day over React in the long term.”

That never happens.

(If you have heard of such an incident, please DM me. I’d love to hear that story.)


Lessons Learned

  1. We think we understand things better than we do.

  2. This phenomenon is a psychological bias known as the Illusion of Explanatory Depth.

  3. Every one of us possesses this bias to some extent.

  4. When it comes to selling and the sales profession, this bias is common in tech companies with engineering cultures.

  5. To de-bias, ask them to explain their understanding, enabling self-discovery.


Thank you for reading,

Jeff

If you like what you read, please share this with a friend.

I possess the skills identified in this article and share them as part of my service.

I offer my help to sales leaders and their teams.

In my weekly newsletter, Win More, Make More, I provide tips, techniques, best practices, and real-life stories to help you improve your craft.


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