Don't be the Dog: A tale for salespeople

The Long Ball. Or: Am I the dog? How to avoid the dangerous trap known as the long ball. Don’t know what I mean? It’s the time swallowing waste of time that kills your quote and prevents you making the best use of the most expensive commodity you have. Time.

Whilst everybody sells, I appreciate that there is selling and selling. That some people dedicate their entire lives to the art of the sale. I salute you. This is not about a slimy way to “close the sale” or a deeply troubling manipulative method of “wining the deal.” No – this is a short piece of advice for the true sales professional. 

Steve Jobs said “It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.” The hectic and busy commercial world of sales is full of opportunity and also full of “time-wasters.” In my particular field of commerce, tech industry Data Analytics/Cloud /Machine Learning/Blockchain – that sort of thing. Time Wasters are often not deliberately seeking to deprive you of the most precious thing that you have. They are often just hedging bets or are maybe just not capable of being straight with you. On occasion they fell they need to “keep you onside” or sometimes – they actually are wasting your time or believe that they are getting free stuff from you. Somewhere in-between all of this sits the truth; and being able to spot the truth is important. Because anything that saves you wasting time means you have more time for doing the right things. The things that matter.

So how can we save time? Every salesperson hears about qualification. One of the big ways to disguise a qualification challenge or to dodge a tricky commercial question is to be in the middle of high level Proof of concept or a deep technical evaluation. These may often soak up resources up but can often be the only way to demonstrate full value to the customer. The customer may need to see specific benchmark data; they then wish to have their own workload benchmarked, they then wish to see a full “rig” is use – then re-run the benchmarks. Then – and only then – we see an order. 

Of course it is not just in a hi-tech world that this happens. I know of Supermarkets that spend a long time with Packaging mock-ups, Point of Sale models and detailed supply chain documentation. They may include consumer demand forecasts, reports and third party “providence” certification. Every industry has a testing process or some form of trailing. For sales these can be either “known and anticipated” or “new and confusing” sometimes both. 

A big danger for any sales professional is sleep -walking into a cycle of tests-pilots-proof of concepts-feasibility studies-business justifications “whatever.” These can kill time, bury resources and generally hurt your business. But getting on top of the cycle. Knowing the routine and the extraordinary, delivering value and stepping closer to the best outcome every time – this is the big deal being “Closed and Won.” So how to tell the difference? One is a staged process for winning the deal. One is a sink hole for time with noting at the end. 

Devil is in the detail. Think. Am I being asked for something I have never ever been asked for before? Am I being asked to prove something that I can close against? Can I demonstrate with this a unique selling point for my product or service? Can I build a business case that cannot be refused? Can I see the “stairway” to the close? All really good stuff. Sage advice in some parts, sales management platitudes in other parts. My golden nugget here is something that will likely get a bunch of pushback but here I go. Use your gut. Add data points to this indeed – but use your gut. Let me explain.

A young couple met though friends and started to take a great deal of interest in each other. It became clear over a relatively short period of time that each believed that the other might well be “the one” – Right now you are thinking “what in the mother of cats” is this all about- but a little patience please. All will become clear. 

Let us watch as our lovers as they walk together slowly around a large lake. The lake is surrounded on all side by wide golden fields and small copses of woodland. For effect here, the autumnal sun bathes the pair in auburn light and stretches their shadows for eternity (Mann Booker prize here I come). And as the lovers walk – one is getting up the courage to ask the other the “big question”. The other is waiting to be asked this very same “big question” in anticipation of saying yes. 

As they walk around the lake their faithful hound is enjoying the fresh air and the outdoors, the fields, the lake and the walk. The dog loves this lake. The lovers love the dog. But right now, whilst the air is full of unspoken tension and deep with romance, the dog just wants to play. So what to do? 

One of the lovers pulls out from a coat pocket what looks to the untrained eye to be a tennis ball. With the aid of a brilliant plastic “ball launch” supported by a mighty “heave;” the yellow “dog ball” is powered deep into the long golden grass. The Dog sets off at pace. The lovers have a short period of peace. The romance grows. The dog returns and our other lover repeats the throw. The dog loves it. They are so part of this beautiful romance. Again and again the dog runs and runs chasing the ball and bringing it back – the lovers take turns to throw the ball further and further. And while to the dog is running in its blissful athletic animal joy, the lover “pops the question” and the answer is “Yes.”

Salespeople: Don’t be the Dog. Heaving the ball into the long grass is the same as the “detailed business case” or the “You know my business – write a report about what you think we should do.” The long grass keeps the dog busy whilst the real drama happens. You know when you are the dog. You know it in your heart. You can confirm this with good data, and you should be sure – checking history, confirming with co-suppliers, ensuing that the cohort of customer contacts points support the activity. All great data sources and data point. But you probably already know if you are the dog. The customer is not committing to any outputs and yet demands more and more inputs. Sometimes you are so delighted – like the dog – you want to please the customer, you love it when they throw that proof of concept/return on investment report your way. [Yellow Ball] You think that you can shine though the report and close the deal. 

So I urge you. In any complex sale. In any commercial process that requires effort and work – keep on asking yourself. Am I the lover – or am I the dog? And if you want to win the sale. Don’t be the Dog.