Meet Them Where They Are

The summer of 2007 was a big deal for the fledgling company known as The Sales Whisperer?.

Dell had retained me to bring on a team of five to help with training all 3,000 of their North American salespeople.

It was a big job.

We did well and were retained to assist with delivering the training to Dell’s new hires once the summer rush was over.

As the training evolved, a few Ah-ha moments stood out, one of which was, “Before you can be different, you must be the same.”

I had been doing that in sales for the last decade, but I did it intuitively.

I’ve always been a storyteller.

My kids always say, “Oh no! Here comes one of dad’s analogies.”

But they work.

Jesus used parables to explain complex concepts because before He could be different, He had to be the same. But I digress.

“But Wes, I’m different. My offering is different. I’m not the same at all. WTH are you talking about? Whisperer my butt. You’re CRAY CRAY!”

Stick with me here.

Sure, you’re different.

Sure, you’re better.

Sure, you’re worth the higher prices you charge.

Sure, you’ve found a hole in the Matrix, and your solution will make all your customers’ problems disappear overnight.

The problem is twofold:

1. Your prospects have been sold that same song and dance a thousand times and been disappointed.
2. A confused mind says no. If your new fan-dangled doohickey sounds too crazy, your prospects think it’s safer to say no because the devil we know is better than the devil we don’t.

So we must first be the same before we can be different.

We must meet our prospects where they are and lead them by the hand to where they want and need to be.

For example, since 2007, I’ve helped clients big and small pick, deploy, optimize, and maintain their CRMs, including sales and marketing automation, e-commerce, and lead generation tools.

That’s a friggin’ mouthful, which is why I’ve never said all of that at once to anyone, either in person or over the phone.

“But Wes, if that’s what you do, that’s what you do. You need to sell to people with brains. Decision makers who know what’s what. Spit out that blurb and let the idiots walk away confused. It’s self-selection. I don’t want to talk to the idiots anyway. I sell to the C-suite because I know my value! Come on, Man!”

Fine. Fine.

I hear ya.

I’m picking up what you’re putting down, but stay with me for a moment.

Believe it or not, the higher up the food chain you get, the greater the chances that the big boss won’t know the details and nuances of your offering.

They’ll have people for that, so I must know my audience. I meet CEOs of billion-dollar companies in different places than a new realtor just getting into the business.

Let’s say I’m talking to the founder/owner of an SMB with 75 employees at a Chamber of Commerce event, and we exchange pleasantries.

Since I know I’m at a CoC event in SoCal vs. a $50,000 per plate fundraiser in Manhattan, when he asks what I do, I might say, “I help small business owners create predictably profitable pipelines that both new salespeople and cocky veteran salespeople can keep updated, so the entire company knows what is going to close today, tomorrow, next week, and even next quarter. How do you keep track of your pipelines to ensure you hit your targets with no surprises?”

I make a logical assumption based on my location/audience and toss some chum in the water that my prospect is likely to be interested in, and I conclude with a question to see if I’m on the right track.

But do you see how I met this business owner where he was?

I know CRMs are a necessary evil for most users.

I know owners need insight into their sales funnels for revenue planning.

I know owners are constantly baffled by the Yo-Yo performances of their salespeople.

I know salespeople are either too confused or too lazy, or too arrogant to spend any time keeping their CRMs updated.

So I meet these business owners where they are, test how concerned they are about their current situation, then steer the conversation from there.

So first, I’m the same, i.e., I’m a business owner/knowledgeable salesperson who understands CRMs, pipelines, forecasting, and insane salespeople like him, but I’m different because I didn’t cram my solution down his throat, and I am confident that I can make his most pressing issues go away…if he’ll raise his hand and ask.

Selling is just like dating/courtship because dating is selling.

Heck, everything is selling, but everyone understands the games we play in dating.

There are subtleties in letting your love interest know you are available, but not easy.

That you are worth pursuing. That you can be won over, but only by the right man.

But in sales, I want you to flip the script.

Professional salespeople know how to make the prospect chase you!

You become the prize.

Your knowledge, professionalism, and offers are in demand, so your prospects must fall in line, answer questions honestly, and be respectful of your time and expertise so they can win the price, i.e., your assistance in making their business pains go away.

This is why I say, to make any sale, you must make every sale.

Market like you mean it.

Now go sell something.