Different can be good…

Do you love discussing the tools, tactics, and techniques of professional selling as much as I do?  You might know I’m one of those old fashioned, pain-in-the-@xz types, always looking for improvement.  Maybe it comes from one of my heroes: 

If better is even possible, good is not enough. 

Joe Newton 

Julie Hansen is a colleague and mentor of mine.  I believe she is a believer in being different.  I believe Julie believes in the power of practice and preparation.  She recently posted this on LinkedIn, did you see it? https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7023679324683722753/   

Julie offered a few reasons why some salespeople are willing to accept a less-than-perfect performance.  I would add what I often heard over the years, “I’m too busy”; “There’s no one to practice with”; or my favorite, “Well Gary, I’ve been doing this for 20 years you know.” 

Maybe I was paranoid throughout my career that I wasn’t good enough to be good enough.  Are you extroverted?  Assertive?  Witty?  Quick on your feet?  I wasn’t.  To stand a chance in a competitive world I had to be better prepared than my competition.  You know what?  Turns out the prospect can tell! 

It’s how you show up at the showdown that counts. 

Homer Norton 

Expecting the prospect to give us the benefit of the doubt is not different from our competition; it’s actually the same.  Same is bad; different is good. 

Some salespeople are totally oblivious to the fact that their lack of practice is negatively impacting their performance.  Truthfully, it’s not just in sales.  How many people do you interact with these days who don’t seem to perform their job very well? 

At anything you choose to do, you'll be as good as the practice, drill, and rehearsal you go through before you actually perform the action. 

Tom Hopkins 

OK, you might be thinking, what does different look like?  Well, here’s a little sales coaching from Mahan Khalsa author of Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play: 

Take the product off the table and stay focused on the client. 

I’m not saying Mahan is saying that to be different we’re not supposed to talk to the prospect about our products and services.  Trust me, the conversation will eventually turn to our products and services.  It just doesn’t have to start and stay there.  When your prospect finally asks to know more about what your offering, it would be best to do what Julie suggests - be ready to demonstrate how you’ve heard and understood their needs.  

Businesses face real problems today and customer executives appreciate the sales professional who is able to stay focused on the customer.   The real value a salesperson brings is the ability to help a customer solve an important business problem.  Back to Mahan: 

How we sell is a free sample of how we solve. 

If we think about it, a prospect is not actually buying our products or services; they’re buying what our products and services can do: 

If you're selling drills, your prospects really couldn't care less about the drills.  What they actually want are the holes. 

Patrick Renvoise 

Let’s recap… talking to the prospect about the prospect; selling the holes not the drills; then when the camera comes on being totally rehearsed and ready to deliver a perfect presentation; that is what different looks like.  And different is… well… you know. 

Curious - when was the last time a prospect told you you’re different?  

GAP 

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.