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On paper the Baltimore Ravens were a much better football team than the Jacksonville Jaguars. In fact no one, including all the experts, gave Jacksonville a chance. Yet the Ravens, believe it or not, did not make one first down in the entire first half! What made matters worse was that we planned a road trip with our motor home to a game that was supposed to be a “walkover” by the Ravens. The date was Oct. 24, 2011. It was a nationally televised Monday Night Football game. Several of our friends met us down there and we had a hell of a tailgate. Everything was awesome except the way our Baltimore Ravens played.
Sometimes teams and individual participants forget the fact that the game is played on the field and is not based on past history or statistics. Especially in the NFL, you must always take every team seriously. If you don’t, you might get blindsided by a team that might not be as good as you but is over-achieving while you are under-achieving on a given Sunday. In other words: Don’t be overconfident
I believe the same concept is true in professional sales. Sometimes we take shortcuts in our sales campaigns because we believe our clients will continue to order from us based on our long history, business relationship and product value. We fail to realize that there are other legitimate competitors that are competing for the business. And many of them are outstanding sales executives who offer very competitive alternatives. Given the opportunity, they will blindside you and win the business.
I can personally relate to this discussion because I’m sorry to say it happened to me. A large financial client that I had a very long-term relationship with was in the market to purchase a significant number of fiber switches. The fiber switches connect the data storage to the computer system. Since the client was a long-term and happy EMC customer, it made logical sense to purchase the switches from EMC. This way the service and support would continue to come from EMC and not another vendor. Tilting things more towards EMC’s favor was the fact that the fiber switches were produced by EMC’s manufacturer. EMC and several other companies purchased the switches, put their names on them, and provided service and support. So from a logical standpoint it didn’t make business sense to have another party involved, to avoid potential finger-pointing regarding service.
We presented our proposal with our previously negotiated discount pricing. The transaction was well over $1 million, and I anxiously waited for the order to arrive. During this waiting period my key contact mentioned several times that a competitor had offered some very aggressive pricing. Knowing that we both sourced the product from the same manufacturer, in conjunction with the fact that our already negotiated discount was significant, it didn’t seem logical to me that the delta could be that great. In addition, and just as important, why would the account want to add another service provider to the mix? At least that was my thought process.So when I received the call that EMC would not be awarded the fiber channel order I was totally shocked. In fact, I asked my customer if this was some sort of a joke. In all honesty I didn’t believe my ears. When it finally sunk in I was very upset with my customer. I felt abused in some sort of way. It’s a feeling that I can’t put into words. But after the dust settled and I debriefed with the client I realized I was the one to blame. What I did do is learn from this loss. What I learned was that I did not listen to or did not believe the warning signs. I simply took for granted that the order would come my way based on history, relationships and what I considered sound business judgment. In other words, I was overconfident!
In all situations, take the necessary time to cover your bases with all of the folks that are involved in the buying decision. Avoid shortcuts, even when you are considered to be the preferred vendor. Listen carefully to what your customer is saying, even though it might not make sense to you at the time. Salespeople sometimes have a different perspective than the client on the same topic. However, what the clients think is ultimately what is important, since they are making the decision.
What might seem logical and obvious to you may not to your prospect. Just like football, a sales campaign is played on the field. Past history and success may not determine today’s winner.
Universal Sales Truth #4
Work Your Land
Proverbs 28:19-20
A farmer too lazy to plant in the spring
has nothing to harvest in the fall
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