How Wade Burgess Sells: Use the Same Process That Doctors Use

Wade Burgess?grew up in Nebraska, where the main industry – agriculture – had no dependence upon sales. Instead, crop prices were set by the commodities market and government policy, and what farmers grew they sold at whatever that set price was.

That wasn’t particularly inspiring to Wade, who always wanted to be an entrepreneur with direct control over business outcomes. And so, when he witnessed real selling - a merchant selling goods or a business competing for customers’ loyalty - he was fascinated with the balance between the art and science of selling.?

All these years later, the fascination has stuck. Leading a career that’s included founding a construction company, selling internet connectivity to businesses, and leading the global sales team for LinkedIn’s Talent Solutions business, he now serves as Chief Revenue Officer at?Velocity Global. Burgess’s professional life has primarily focused on the exchange between buyer and seller, and finding ways to build partnerships where both sides win.

What has he learned? We recently sat down with Wade to find out for our latest edition of?How I Sell:

1. What do you love most about?selling??

There’s a symbiotic energy when it feels like one plus one equals more than two. Meaning, when both the buyer and seller feel like they’re getting the better end of the deal, and both feel like they are helping each other, it’s no longer a zero-sum game.

That moment – that moment of yes –?is an exceptional moment. It’s like that magic moment of a marriage proposal when both people say yes, and they both feel great.?

2. What’s your sales philosophy,?in 3 sentences or less?

I can do it in one: Find the need and fill it.?

3. Is there anything that makes your sales process unique?

No. They are billions of people on the planet; we’ve been around for a long time. As the proverb indicates, there's nothing new under the sun.

I think that the most successful sales process that’s relatable to everyone is the sales process of medical doctors. It’s a process of diagnosing someone who has expressed an explicit need, and we don’t really see them as sales professionals even though the average doctor outsells almost every quota-carrying rep in their town.?

The prospect (patient) perceives the doctor or the medical practitioner as an expert. They are willing to go through discovery because they have something they want to solve. Then there is a key transitional phase:?“based on what you’ve told me and what we have discovered, this is what I recommend you do next.”?And, very often, the patient buys the medication, procedure, or device that has been recommended.?

In every country I've been to, for multiple generations now, that process has been effective. So, I follow that process not because it’s unique, but because it's very common and effective.

4. What are the top sales trends you’re tracking??

Two things.

One is that in the balance between the science and the art of selling, the trend is increasingly towards a data-driven and scientific approach to sales, especially in B2B.?

A generation ago, there was a lot of schmoozing and convincing someone to buy a good or service. Today, sales is a much more intellectual process. So, the sales professional of today needs a high level of intellectual curiosity and a consulting capability – it’s no longer about their charisma or charm.

The other trend I’m tracking is that the buyer becomes educated much earlier in the process, often before even engaging with a salesperson. You now have a very informed buyer, matched with – ideally – a very informed seller. So, there’s a more compressed discovery process.

Those two trends are really important because what selling used to be based on – building a personal relationship and a massive education process – is ineffective and it can now irritate the buyer.

I'll date myself on this, but I think it's worth the story. My first job as a seller was selling internet connectivity to businesses. At that time, it was acceptable to go into a business and ask them what they do.

With the advent of that information being readily available online, that’s now a disrespectful question. Similarly, with LinkedIn, it’s now a disrespectful question to ask a buyer where they went to school or about their work history. If you ask questions like that to your buyer, you’re sending the message that you didn’t care enough to do any research and that you just showed up unprepared.

So, those two trends have really changed what it means to be an effective salesperson today. You need to come in informed and ready to act as a consultant to your buyer; not just build rapport and explain what your product does.?

5. What’s your favorite discovery question??

I don't have a specific question. My favorite discovery process is to gain enough understanding of the buyer to learn if I can help them achieve an objective they care about and how we may collectively align to do so.??

In other words,I want to have full context on the objectives of the buyer; really understand how they are measured and what they are trying to accomplish. This context sets the framework to double-click on details that will matter to both parties.??

When I walk into a conversation, I am certain there’s a reason the buyer made time for it. I want to know why – I don’t want to pitch my product yet; I want to understand why they took the time to speak with me.?The catalyst to yes lies within this insight.?

So, really, just – why are we here? Why are we talking today?

6. Is there any habit outside of work you have that you believe helps you?sell?better?

The habit of being fully present.?

As a leader, I can go from a meeting with an investor potential investor directly into a career conversation with an employee, then right into a sales call with a large prospective customer.?To do this effectively, you have to be able to fly at 37,000 feet and also walk at the ground level – and know when to do which. The person in front of me at any moment needs to feel that this is the most important conversation of my day. The only way to do this is to be fully present with the person you’re meeting with at this very moment and care about what they need, not what you need.

7. How?do you use LinkedIn when?selling??

Relationships start with mutuality. So, I look at LinkedIn to see what commonalities we share. Do we know the same people, have we worked at the same places, or do we have similar interests or skills??

I also use LinkedIn to understand the context of the industry I’m selling into, the competitors in that space, and then the specific company.?What are the things I can learn from their company page? What can I learn about the company from what it’s sharing on LinkedIn??

One thing I look out for in particular is what’s different about this particular company. Is there something the organization is doing that’s different from what their competitors are doing? Or, for the person, do they have stances or a background that’s different from either their competitors or perhaps even their own company? I like to dig into that.?

Zooming out, LinkedIn is fantastic for reinforcing the reality that selling is a lifetime sport. Statistically, you know that between any two people one of them will likely move to a different organization within an 18-to-24-month window. That means the person you’re talking with today may be a prospect in a different company soon, or perhaps you will be presenting a different company to them. Or both. Relationships matter; that personal connection is as important – if not more important –?than the current deal cycle that you're working on, in the context of the lifetime value of this relationship. I put an emphasis on connecting with everyone I engage with and fostering that connection over time.?LinkedIn is currently the world’s best professional platform for this.??

8. What has been your biggest failure?in sales and?how?did that experience transform you?

In the early years in one of my sales leadership roles at LinkedIn, we were meeting in Switzerland with one of the top executive search firms in the world. And we got kicked out of their office.?

A few relevant details about this story. First, we came into a country where I didn’t fully appreciate the business culture. More importantly, I was dead right.?We had done the research, were fully prepared, and our story was spot on and absolutely right. I won the argument and lost the relationship.?

The lesson I took from that is that it's not about being right, it’s about finding common ground and working together toward a shared objective. Seek first to understand, and then to be understood. Human decency goes a long way in leading, inspiring, and gaining trust.

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