Coming out of college as a young sales rep, I had idealistic views regarding professional sales. In fact, even after several years in the field, I essentially felt the same way. My belief was that, if I had a solid proposal that addressed all of my prospects’ needs and answered all of my prospects’ objections, then, in theory, I should be awarded the business. Then, when I lost the business to an inferior competitor, I was at a total loss about why this happened.
What I was doing was confusing theory with reality! In theory, I should have won the business, but in reality, I never had a chance. In sales, as is in life, we should never forget that theory and logic are not the only components that go into decisions. We, in fact, must learn to live in “reality.” Reality to me means that individual personalities, political aspirations and long-term relationships often trump sound and logical business decisions. And as a young salesperson, sometimes it is difficult to get your arms around the reality of the sales environment. We continue to push forward and waste valuable selling time on sales campaigns that have little or no chance of closing because we fail to understand the reality of the sales landscape. As we become more seasoned, we learn to distinguish between theory and reality, and hopefully avoid making the mistake over and over again.
In my view, there are two realities.
REALITY #1
Regardless of the strength of your proposal and associated business value, you have NO chance of winning the business. Perhaps the CEO of your competitor is on your prospect’s board of directors. Or maybe a family member is a salesman for or even the owner of the company you are competing against. Perhaps there are other political considerations that are simply too difficult to overcome. Regardless of the specific circumstances, by doing your research and asking the right questions, a seasoned sales exec should be able to uncover a reality #1 prospect, politely thank them for their time and quickly move on to another prospect before wasting any more valuable selling time.
REALITY #2
Reality #2 is a lot more difficult to uncover and, in most cases, takes years of experience in the trenches to figure out. Since realities are more subjective than objective, and involve personalities, political considerations and inter-personal relationships, it takes a skilled professional sales exec to navigate the corporate landscape and then develop and execute a strategy that will result in winning the business. In other words, this prospect has significant potential, but only if the sales exec fully understands the reality #2 sales landscape. The sales exec is patient, approaches it on a long-term basis, and executes his strategy perfectly. This explains why for years a particular account only buys from a certain supplier. Then, when an experienced sales exec figures out a new and innovative approach that is in line with the reality he is selling into, the incumbent is replaced and a new business relationship is established.
I wrote an article back in September of 2015 titled, “There is a second level of sales qualification,” which addresses some of the subjective components of a sales campaign.
The point is that people, not computers and software programs, make buying decisions. This means that theory and logic will not always prevail! Being able to quickly and efficiently size up the reality of your selling environment is a skill that will save you valuable time, and ultimately result in long-term sales success. You can learn a lot from your first sales call if you approach it properly. That will be the focus of next month’s newsletter.
Universal Sales Truth # 1
Surround yourself with successful people of integrity
Proverbs 28:26
If you think you know it all, you’re a fool for sure;
real survivors learn wisdom from others