It seems like I spend most of my time these days working on the difference between the old and the new in selling. Yesterday was no exception. I was speaking with a veteran salesperson and he said, “Troy, my biggest problem is that I just can’t get control over my sales calls anymore! I’m calling on customers, and they’re watching their computer screen, they’re fiddling with a phone, and I’m presenting the whole time and they’re not paying attention. What can I do?”
My initial reply was, “You really didn’t ever have control. You just thought you did.” Seeing the look of confusion on his face, I explained, “Salespeople have flattered themselves for years that they somehow ‘controlled’ their customers. They really didn’t; it’s just that customers had fewer options for how they invested their time and their money. Today, it’s different.” And then, I gave him the new rules concerning “control” in selling.
Rule 1 – Never Fool Yourself Into Thinking That You Have Control: As I told the salesperson, salespeople have tried to convince themselve for years that they had “control” over the customer. They didn’t invent this on their own; after all, the very first sales training I underwent in the car business was called “Control Selling.” But it was all built on the myth that the customer couldn’t end the sales process anytime THEY wanted to. Of course, the customer could – and did.
Rule 2 – Recognize that Customers Have More Alternatives: Today’s customer has far more alternatives – for their money, even for their attention – than yesterday’s customer did. In many industries, customers of fifteen or even ten years ago pretty much had to buy using personal service. When I sold bearings and power transmission products in the mid-90’s, my customers basically had to buy from me, or from a competitor’s salesperson. Now, those same customers can just as easily pull up any number of websites that sell those products and completely fill their stockrooms without the intervention of a salesperson. By the same token, the various devices and communication mediums now mean that you have more competition for the customer’s interest. You have to be more interesting than their smartphone.
Rule 3 – An Unengaged Customer Won’t Buy: When the salesperson described his call, notice that he said he was “presenting all the time.” That’s part of the problem. Yes, once upon a time, I did that too; I’d go into my customers with my new product flyers and present away. And my customers would listen because I was a pretty good presenter, because they had good relationships with me, and because there was less competition for their attention. Today, that doesn’t work. Today’s salesperson must ENGAGE their customers. We do that by having conversations instead of presenting all the time. The sales callmust feel and be a focused conversation. Conversations have interaction and back-and-forth. This, too, goes against “control.”
Rule 4 – Instead of Control, Seek Influence: We cannot control our customers. However, we caninfluence them and persuade them. Gaining influence over your customer isn’t easy. It requires showing and demonstrating that you have their best interests at heart. It requires working to make their buying experience pleasant, productive, and more beneficial than tapping computer keys. It requires asking a lot of questions, and listening to the answers. And it requires getting rid of all the old sales tactics that were designed to manipulate and seek control.
Rule 5 – Take Risks: Years ago, I remember being “taught” that one of the best rules of selling was, “Never ask a question if you don’t already know the answer.” That was a “safe” approach to selling, because the customer couldn’t (or usually didn’t) introduce variables into the call that the salesperson wasn’t prepared to deal with. Safe selling (or defensive selling) is dead. Today, you have to take the risks of asking a lot of open ended questions and learning real information about your customers. Customer information is the one thing that can be yours, and yours alone, to possess – but it depends greatly on your willingness to ask tough and deeply probing questions. It also means that sometimes you must interrupt the process. Several years ago, I was on a sales call for a potential training client, and the contact wouldn’t look away from his monitor or give me more than a two-word answer. Finally, I asked him, “Why am I here?” Startled, he looked at me and then gave me some significant information that allowed me not only to turn the call into a productive one, but in fact to walk out with a training agreement. Don’t be afraid to take those risks if the call isn’t going anywhere – what do you have to lose?
I hope the salesperson that I was speaking to will take my advice. Control is dead in sales. Long liveinfluence.
