How You Do Anything is How You Do Everything
WMMM #058 - This week, I share lessons from my current engagements.
Jeff Keplar Newsletter March 16, 2024 4 min read
In recent editions, we have covered real-life sales stories with VarTec, Amazon, and Diamond Shamrock.
With the Verizon, JCPenney, and Origin of the ULA stories yet to come, we take an exit off Memory Lane to share what's happening right now for this week's edition of Win More, Make More.
The Investor
Our networks produce business relationships.
Sometimes, they evolve into real friendships.
This individual is an investor and likes the high-tech industry.
This sounds like a perfect scenario.
A friend who's an investor in high-tech, and we offer sales performance and go-to-market consulting services for high-tech startups.
"We have a problem that you can solve. We'd value your help with it."
Check. Check. Check.
Since they already know and trust us, what's not to like?
Disco!
"When do we start?" (Wrong, not so fast.)
Treat this opportunity like we would any other referral.
Invest time to conduct our process.
Don't assume that the business is ours, merely a formality.
Do not jump to conclusions.
No Pain, No Sale
Help our sponsor articulate their current state.
Ask situational questions to establish the background information.
Work with them to develop their desired state.
Meticulously identify the gap from where they are today to where they want to be.
Ask problem questions about difficulties and dissatisfaction.
Help them reveal the cause of their gap and why they need to invest resources to close it.
Ask implication questions to develop implied and explicit needs.
Help them to feel the pain of doing nothing.
Break through the inertia: "an object at rest…"
This is a friend.
But there is no sale if there is no pain.
It helps to ask their permission to proceed.
"You may not like the answers to the questions I'm about to ask. Is that okay?"
When we complete the process and the sale (of the engagement), our sponsor will have a much better appreciation for what we do (the sales profession).
We ask questions in a non-threatening manner to elicit responses that help the buyer reach a decision.
Why Make It Harder Than It Needs to Be?
We had their business.
They asked for our help.
Why bother going through all of this?
Why indeed.
They may have thought and acted like they were ready to buy, but we know better.
Treat every interaction like an audition.
Summon the same energy and equivalent engagement as we would with someone who wasn't a friend.
Show them our respect.
Show them our "A" game.
Conduct our process as we would with anyone.
If we create a deliverable, create one suitable for review at a Board Meeting.
Deliver our service at the highest performance level possible.
Large opportunity or small, it doesn't matter.
We are entering a new environment as a problem-solver.
We aren't as smart as we think we are.
And we will soon learn that their problems are more complex than they appear.
How We Do Everything is How We Do Anything.
Credits
I connect weekly with dozens of sales professionals.
Some call what I do "coaching" or "mentoring."
That may be the case.
But I get as much from these interactions as they do.
I learn something from every session.
In one of my recent encounters, an enterprise sales pro, Chris, shared, "How You Do Everything is How You Do Anything," as he described a challenge he faced at work.
It was the first time I had heard it.
It fits so well with the "Be the Best You Can Be" aspiration I try to emulate.
So I asked Chris if he would mind if I borrowed it, and, of course, he said, "No, be my guest. I didn't invent it."
You may also recognize some elements of Neil Rackham's SPIN Selling in this week's lesson.
It fits very well with my material, thus the hat tip.
Thank you for reading.
Jeff
When you think “sales leader,” I hope you think of me.
If you like what you read, please share this with a friend.
I offer my help to sales leaders and their teams.
I possess the skills identified in this article and share them as part of my service.
In my weekly newsletter, Win More, Make More, I provide tips, techniques, best practices, and real-life stories to help you improve your craft.
