There’s this guy… he sold leading-edge, business applications; the most sophisticated in the world. “MRP” (Manufacturing Resource Planning), “HRMS” (Human Resource Management Systems), “ERP” (Enterprise Resource Planning”) he sold the whole shebang. This guy sold for great companies like ADP and Oracle/NetSuite.
One would think this guy was a technology wizard. It’s easy to imagine he had deep product knowledge coupled with extensive technology training, not to mention years of experience with complex implementations and professional services. In actuality… he had little of those.
How did he win deals? I happen to know this guy’s competitive success was based on 3, specific advantages. The first was a natural sense of curiosity. Wikipedia might offer:
Curiosity killed the cat.
Do you believe Wikipedia’s explanation, “…that being curious can sometimes lead to danger or misfortune.”? Well, this salesperson believed just the opposite. His customers appreciated that he followed Mahan Khalsa’s coaching instead:
Leave your product on the table and focus on the customer.
His second competitive advantage was mastering the use of the most powerful sales word in the English language. We’ve all used this word even though too many salespeople seem to overlook it. Could it be they are too proud of their knowledge; education; or credentials?
That powerful, simple, 3-letter word this salesman leveraged? “Why?” He asked his customers “Why?” intently. They saw how hard he was really trying to understand their needs. They often responded, “Gary, let me help you…” and then disclosed what they were going to buy; why they would buy it; who they were evaluating; how much they were willing to spend; and how they would justify the investment. It’s called “getting to the essence” and he knew the first sales rep that gets to the essence, wins.
His 3rd competitive advantage came from being a parent. Many salespeople are parents so that’s nothing special. I bet lots of people saw apples fall to the ground, too. It was Newton who was the first to get to that essence, true? As a parent he learned this selling skill:
Salespeople should take lessons from their kids. What does the word 'no' mean to a kid? Almost nothing.
Mike Weinberg
“No” doesn’t always mean “no”. It often means “not yet”’ or “not that one”; or “not at that price”. Getting past “No” was his third competitive advantage.
Not one of his competitive advantages required superior product knowledge; technology expertise; an advanced degree; or any other attribute so many other salespeople are absorbed with. His competitive advantage was simply being customer focused.
What’s yours?
GAP
When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.
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