SalesBudo

The Casualty of Multitasking

In Aikido, we perform an exercise call Happo Waza.  The meaning of this is "eight ways".  We move our attention in one direction and move our body in the same direction.  Then we move in another direction... and another... and another.  We do this in 8 different directions.  One of the teachings that I take from this exercise is that we cannot move in multiple directions at once.  We cannot focus our attention in multiple directions at once.

Wikipedia defines multitasking as:

the performance by an individual of appearing to handle more than one task at the same time. The term is derived from computer multitasking. An example of multitasking is listening to a radio interview while typing an email. Multitasking can result in time wasted due to human context switching and apparently causing more errors due to insufficient attention.

Notice the phrase "appearing to handle more than one task".  The definition also includes the idea that multitasking results in "time wasted"  because it causes "more errors due to insufficient attention".

In Sales, there is another casualty of the multitasking culture.  It is relationship. 

Do you know salespeople that cannot sit down and have a conversation with you without checking their email, phone or voicemail?  I've seen salespeople behave like this in front of customers.  What message does this behavior convey?  It is simple.  "I'm so important that what is happening on my Blackberry is far more important than you."

That's sick.  Get over yourself.

Your ability to focus fully on the customer or colleague who is immediately in front of you is directly proportional to the quality of relationship that you will have.

Your Own Sales Methodology

Many people ask me what sales methodology I use.  I'm very familiar with 2: Mike Bosworth's Solution Selling and Infomentis' Value Selling Process.  I'm a big believer in deploying a sales methodology primarily because, a) most of them accurately reflect the stages of the buying process, b) they provide a common communication framework for the selling organization, and c) when set against running a sales organization by word of mouth, they work.  I use a process which is a combination of the methodologies I've learned, the unique gifts that I bring, and the sales experiences that I've had.

If you are traveling blindly down a path, it is by definition not your own.  Hence, using sales methodology too rigorously, without your unique gifts, creativity, and experience, will ultimately fall short.  Each of us brings a unique set of talents and experiences to our selling environments.  We should augment sales methodology with these gifts in order to differentiate ourselves in what is increasingly becoming an ocean of selling sameness. 

In short, sales methodology is crucial; but it should be your servant, not your master.

Cognitive Dissonance in Sales Culture

Cognitive Dissonance:

"an uncomfortable feeling or stress caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a fundamental cognitive drive to reduce this dissonance by modifying an existing belief, or rejecting one of the contradictory ideas." - Wikipedia

Today's Sales culture is wrought with cognitive dissonance.  Here is an example:

The executive orators give great lip service to how we are in all this for the long term success of the customer.  All the marketing material says this, so it MUST be true, but you better frig'n get that deal in and hit that number this quarter...the interest of the customer is clearly secondary.  In addition, there are no metrics or compensation mechanisms in place to reinforce the behavior. Unfortunately, Salespeople live in this dissonance every day.  In fact, if you can't handle a significant amount of cognitive dissonance, today's sales culture may not be for you. (There are a few companies, however, that go to great lengths to align their corporate lip service to the compensation plans of their Salespeople.  We have a long way to go in this area but at least its a start.)

I've known some good salespeople who have been eaten alive by the cognitive dissonance in their sales organizations.  Unfortunately, pointing this out in one of these organizations will usually not do you any good.  Either the dissonance will chip away at your performance until you leave or are asked to leave, you will succomb to it and become a second rate sales person, OR you will learn to navigate through the dissonance and serve the customer despite it. 

I suggest the latter.

Too much Personal Power?

Duff McDuffee at Precision Change has a great blog on the possibility of having too much "personal power".  In it he describes what a person might become when they cross this line.  The description reminded me of a lot of some Salespeople that I know. 

"nobody else can get a word in when he walks in the door due to his overwhelming personal power and charisma. He can’t be missed, as he now dresses in stylish and even flashy ways. He tells extremely interesting stories, talks loudly, and takes up a lot of space."

So much space that there is no room for the prospect or customer. 

I'm all for high energy and self-directness but sometimes I get the feeling that we salespeople can gin up our personal power and motivation a bit much.  And what for??  Are we taking on some kind of daunting, monstrous opponent?

They're just people for God's sake.  You have something and maybe they want or need it.

Have a conversation!

Too much personal power isn't personal power. It comes across as hubris and arrogance and in the new sales world its effect is inversely proportional to achieving the objective to which it is aimed. 

How to Treat your Presales Colleagues

First a few definitions here...

When I say Presales, I mean any SME (subject matter expert) that assists you (the salesperson) in helping the prospect see and understand the value of your product or service.  This means services personnel, technical folks, vertical market experts, training experts or anyone else that you bring into the account to round out your campaign.

I have seen Presales people treated like second class citizens throughout the sales process.  And, when it was time for them to perform, they gave second class performances... and the Salesperson was aghast!

Your ability to thoughtfully leverage your organization in order to show the prospect the value of your product or service is a clue to how well you will leverage your organization to help your prospect succeed IF they do purchase your product or service.  In this respect, YOUR RELATIONSHIP TO YOUR PRESALES PEOPLE ARE PRODUCTS OF YOUR CREDIBILITY IN YOUR OWN ORGANIZATION.

93% of communication is non-verbal and as I stated in a previous blog, State of Discovery, you must be calm and able to observe the dynamics between your prospects in the room.  But make no mistake, your prospects are carefully observing the dynamics between you and your team as well.  The slightest misalignment in strategy OR chemistry between you and your Presales colleagues can turn an otherwise perfect meeting into a liability. 

So, how should you treat your presales people?

• Like Gold -- Wine and dine whenever you get the chance.  Remember, their performance is an indicator of your credibility within your organization.
• Give them as much relevant information as possible
• Get their feedback on the sales process -- you only have one set of eyes -- they see different things and they see things differently
• Pre-call preparation -- This is a must but is very often neglected.  In order to achieve a specific outcome you must prepare and tell them what your expectations are.  If presales is part of your call then you must extend the courtesy of preparing.
• Convert your presales people into "Post/Presales People".  Once your prospect has purchased, help your Presales people engage with the customer in order to ensure the successful implementation of your product or service.  At the same time, they can be on the look-out for additional opportunities to expand on the customer's success.

"I Got It"

Since when did it become acceptable in the business world to interrupt someone mid-sentence with "I Got It"?  This is a recent phenomena that seems to be very prevalent in sales culture.  I've heard it used from sales manager to subordinate, from prospect to salesperson, and even from salesperson to prospect.  Roughly translated this means, "don't keep explaining yourself to me because I already know what you are going to say and what you mean.  My time and intellect are so valuable that I can't possibly spend another second with you.  Please get on with it so I can subject the next person to my power and greatness."

What does one have to think about oneself to unconsciously wield that kind of rudeness?  What kind of business culture have we created where this behavior is acceptable?

State of Discovery

Discovery, the process of understanding the prospects critical business issues, is arguably, the most important part of the sales process.  All other things being equal, the best discovery wins the day.  However, all other things are never equal.  And, the best discovery entails much more than asking the standard "high yield" questions that every salesperson in your space will ask.  The unspoken observations that you make about the person (s), culture, and where the corporation is in its lifecycle, are just as important, if not more important than the verbal answers to your "high yield" questions.  Unfortunately, most salespeople are so hell-bent on getting these answers that they miss some of the most "high yield" observations. (I will discuss more about these high yield observations in an upcoming post).

One of Koichi Tohei's 4 basic principles of coordinating mind and body in any endeavor is "Relax Completely".  However, the English translation of this does not tell the whole story.  In Japanese the principle reads "Zenshin no chikara o kanzen ni nuku" Roughly translated, this means to take the power of everything that you are and have ever been, physically, mentally, and spiritually, and throw it all away.  Another way to say it is if if all of your knowledge and understanding is liquid in a cup, dump it all out.  Now, if this were a Zen exercise, the Sensei may tell you to now throw out the cup.  But I'm not sure it would be a good idea to be staring at your prospect in a state of transcendental bliss.  So, put your cup aside but not completely out of reach.

In order to pick up on subtle, unspoken behaviors about people, relationships, and culture, you must be calm.  You must be free from your agenda.  You must be like the calm water that accurately reflects the environment around you.  Allow the prospect to drive the discussion where he wants to take it and gradually you can pick up your cup and start adding your knowledge to the mix.  You must completely take on your prospects perspective before you can become one with it.

Before your next discovery meeting take some time to empty yourself.  Tell colleagues that are attending the discovery with you that you want to understand the spoken AND the unspoken.  "Relax Completely" and allow the prospect the space to tell you their story, with and without words.

The Sales Lexicon

Have you ever heard how most salespeople talk?

Let’s take for example the sales “pitch”.  Salespeople make “pitches” to their prospects.  Salespeople are the pitchers, and prospects are the batters.  If we take the analogy further, the pitcher tries to strike the batter out and send him back to the dugout with nothing for his effort.  Wait, there’s more… Companies want their sales people to be able to make this pitch, if, by chance, they are in an elevator with one of their prospects.  Is it any wonder that salespeople get a bad wrap?

Salespeople struggle to “close” deals.  The prospect  wants or needs the product or service but it seems that they are trying to keep the deal “open”.  The problem is that while it may be the end of a process for the salesperson, it is just the beginning for the prospect.  The process of achieving value from the product or service has not even started for the prospect.  No wonder there is resistance.

My point is that the sales lexicon is wrought with contentiousness between sellers and the prospects that we are supposed to be trying to help.  By talking this way we prepare ourselves for conflict with the prospect. The way we talk and think about our prospects & customers when they are not around, will affect the way that we treat them when we interact with them directly.

One way to practice this is to go through an entire day pretending that your prospects can see and hear everything you say and do.  Try this and you will be surprised at what you discover.  My experience was that I first noticed myself thinking carefully before I spoke with my colleagues about different sales cycles.  After I got used to it, I began to notice a heightened energy level within myself and my own sales culture.  A much more constructive dialogue began to occur around my sales cycles.  After all, if my prospects/customers were watching me, I would want them to see a positive, constructive person who is calmly and firmly looking out for their best interest.

The same rule applies here.  The way we talk and think about our prospects & customers when they are not around, will affect the way that we treat them when we interact with them directly.  Try this, and you will be surprised at the change that takes place in your sales culture and in your sales cycles.

Be Calm, Relax, and Stay Centered

Not something you would normally hear in a high pressure sales environment. In fact, quite the opposite. Most sales organizations are wrought, by design, with stress and intimidation. While much lip service is given to “creating a positive work environment”, when it comes right down to it, stress and intimidation win the day.

Why? Because unlike almost every other performance related practice,  sales culture promotes that when a sales professional is more stressed and/or intimidated, he or she performs better.

Sales people buy into this as well. It is common place to see sales people pacing around with furrowed brows at the end of a month or a quarter concerned about why their deals aren’t going as planned. It is almost as if one cannot possibly be taking their job seriously during these times unless they are stressed to the hilt. Being stressed, strung-out, and intimidated has become somewhat of a badge of honor within sales culture…. “look at me, look how overburdened I am, and look how hard I work.”

I know this because I have spent the better part of 20 years living it. From selling to managing sales people I have seen it all. I’ve seen solid people who would have been good at sales devoured by this culture and I’ve seen not-so-good people thrive because of it. I’ve come to these conclusions not because I’ve done everything right but mainly because I have very good experience at doing things “wrong way first” as my Aikido Sensei would say.

Even more concerning is the poverty of spirit that has consumed a lot of my sales colleagues. Most believe that their job has no intrinsic value other than to meet their economic requirements. There are a lot of reasons for this but a great deal of it is self-inflicted. The “I’m only doing this for the money” attitude has become another badge of honor which utlimately leaves unhappy clients and customers in its wake.

The good news is that there are dramatic changes that are occuring in the way that we, as a business and social community connect. Marketing has begun to heed these harbingers but sales has yet to respond. These changes are creating new opportunities for sellers and will require a new and different approach. This blog will explore and hopefully even help develop these new approaches.

I believe that if approached correctly that sales can be a practice that delivers benefits far beyond the financial. Hence, the creation of SalesBudo. My purpose for using these words together is to elevate sales to an activity not unlike Aikido (the way of harmony) or other practices that are cultivated not as means to ends but as ends in themselves; in short, to refine one’s character. Having practiced the art for some time now, there is simply too much relevance to the sales life for it to be ignored.

Customers and prospects are looking for a different relationship with sales. Sales people are looking for a different relationship with their organizations. We are all looking for more intrinsic value in what we do for a third (at least) of our lives. Exploring these issues is hopefully what our conversation will be all about.

I welcome your comments and thoughts.  Welcome to SalesBudo.