I get a lot, no…really, A LOT of emails asking me the secrets to sales success.
I’m going to reveal two of them today, wrapped into one neat, no…simple, little package.
You ready ?
It’s about asking, not telling and listening , not talking.
Simple, but true.
I like simple.
EDIT 1-17-08 7:30 PM – I added a little gem that you can sample by clicking on the word listen.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Very Interesting.
You rock my friend.
Coincidentally, I was having a conversation with a counterpart yesterday over lunch about this very issue.
He and I came to the same conclusion:
While most people think that selling is all about being a pitcher, the most successful salesmen are actually catchers.
Instead of throwing stuff at your client all of the time, why not be the only one on your team who is on their side of the foul lines? Waiting to RECEIVE the client’s pitch and directing the other members of your team on how to play the ball? Wouldn’t you have more success if you let the client think that they’re controlling the game by what they are throwing at you while you just put yourself in the best possible position to stop or block the pitch?
To take the analogy one step further. The best salesmen that I know have always been the ones who are aware that the game is 9 innings long and that you can’t get 27 outs with one pitch. Sometimes you call for a ball in the dirt to set up for the out pitch.
As a huge St. Louis Cardinals fan, Jamie, I really, really like those analogies.
As always, you’ve added tremendously to the conversation and I appreciate it.
It boils down to basic human nature – People like to buy, but don’t like to be sold … for the most part.
There is always that minority who can’t make decisions and need you to sell them what they need. They’d starve, have no phones and electricity if it were left to them.