If you talk to any successful head football coach they will tell you it all starts with a strong offensive and defensive line. You can have the best quarterback in the game but if he doesn’t have time to throw the ball he will never reach his maximum potential. The same is true on the defensive side of the ball. If the defensive line continually gets blow off the line, the line backers cannot be effective in either stopping the run or in pass protection.
When building a new house, it also starts with a strong foundation. You wouldn’t build a beautiful home on a wood foundation. No, it would have solid cement footers that will stand the test of time. Foundations, whether in football or in home building, are not very glamorous. When talking about a football team or a multi-million dollar house we rarely go into great detail when describing foundations. We like to focus on the more exciting aspects of our favorite team or new home. Yet without the correct foundation a football team or a new house will not last very long.
The same is true for a professional sales executive. You can give an awesome PowerPoint presentation, be able to handle all client objections, know your competition cold and prepare a compelling proposal. You may even have the best price, yet lose business because of foundational flaws. Over the years I have seen this scenario countless times. Senior sales folks lose business they should have won to inferior competitors. The simple reason is they are OUTSOLD. Period end of story. They were outsold not because they didn’t know their product or how to position it in a positive way relative to the competition. They lost BEFORE they even got to the point in the sales cycle where they were seriously being considered. They went through the motions of the sales cycle yet if the truth be known, they were eliminated long before the final decision was ever made. In other words the economic buyer had determined very early in the sales campaign that he was not comfortable with the sales rep or the company he or she represented. First impressions are very difficult to change. So if a rep starts off on the wrong foot it can be very difficult to recover.
The sales foundation that we talk about at UST is totally independent of traditional sales skills you might learn from the hundreds of books and training seminars available today. It is certainly independent of the specific product value, competitive advantage or industry knowledge that you would receive from your company’s sales training organization. While this specific training is essential to success, without a strong foundation a sales exec will never reach his or her full potential.
Through my research I talked with several senior sales managers that provided specific examples of companies that hired the best and brightest people out of college and put them into intensive sales training programs for up to 6 months. They would not graduate until they could deliver a stellar stand-up presentation on the entire product suite. They needed to know the competition cold. In addition they did intense role playing to simulate real sales situations. All this needed to be completed successfully before they could graduate and move into a field sales position. And at the end of all this training, 90% of the graduates still struggled in real life sales situations. The reason is simple. A strong foundation is rarely taught in sales school. A strong foundation is typically learned over the years in the “school of hard knocks.” In other words you learn from getting your teeth kicked in. And if you learn correctly you don’t make the same mistake again.
Our goal at UST is to pass on the UNIVERSAL SALES TRUTHS that make up the strong foundation. Although it is true that many folks need to learn these truths on their own, our hope is that some sales execs will take a short cut and begin implementing them immediately.
In order to be successful in sales long term it is essential to be strong in the following 3 areas:
- Basic Sales Skills
- Specific Product & Industry Knowledge
- Strong Foundation
While it is true junior sales reps typically suffer with a weak foundation, the sad truth is even senior sales execs lose business because of flaws in their foundation. Sometimes we all lose sight of fundamental sales principles that derail our deals. We may overcomplicate a particular opportunity instead of focusing on basic sales truths that are foundational and not as glamorous. Without a strong foundation you will never reach your maximum potential.
The book; “What They Don’t Teach You In Sales School”, is totally based on the foundational aspects of professional selling. EVERY chapter speaks to this. UST is dedicated to assisting career sales execs that are in it for the long term. No shortcuts are discussed! There a thousands of books on sales tips and closing techniques. You won’t find that here.