Do You Want to be Right or Do You Want to Win?
You know those leads that feel like they fell from the sky? If there was a person who needed what you were selling, this is them. You have a great feeling leading into the call, and then it happens. You get punched in the jaw. Your potential buyer isn’t quite as enthused as you thought they would be.
The sales profession covers a broad spectrum where each sale can look unique from business to business — but, at the end of the day, people are still people. They can either be arrogant and combative or amicable and diplomatic. Clearly we need to be able to effectively sell both ends of this spectrum to push our businesses forward.
While we would all prefer to deal in smiles and signatures, we aren’t quite so lucky now, are we?
So, what happens when you’re working day-in and day-out to move the needle forward for your company and you come across that person who is obtuse or antagonistic? This isn’t your first rodeo, you’ve done your homework, and you know they are a perfect fit. If they could just see the picture without any obstacles, then they would be singing a different tune. What do you do when they won’t engage, answer your questions honestly, open up about the issues they’re facing, or even identify they have a problem?
If you’re human, you likely want to pound your chest and prove how wrong they are. You want to list off every reason why their stance is illogical and why you’re clearly on the correct side of the argument. It can feel good to tell somebody what’s on your mind: especially when they’re being unreasonable. It’s a trap. Disguised as relief and self-assurance, digging in for the sake of being right and feeding your ego is a guarantee that you will lose.
I wish I could say that I’ve never made this mistake, but I have. I took my eyes off the goal of winning and I took the bait. Did it feel good to steamroll, spout my knowledge and be right? Yep, for about 7 seconds. I wasted my time, burnt a lead, and made a fool of myself because I couldn’t keep my composure. The only takeaway from that last scenario for me was that I learned — I don’t care about being right, I care about winning.
Inevitably it happened again.
I was faced with a situation where it felt like the prospect couldn’t be any more frustrating. I didn’t understand, why would they agree to talk to me if they had no interest in answering my questions honestly? I felt my patience grow thin and then I saw the sun shine down on the fishing line attached to the lure. This time I didn’t take the bait. Instead, I made a joke (as I often do), which wasn’t funny (as they often aren’t), but it worked. I said “[Name], I have to ask what’s going on… Usually people are loving it by now [chuckle], what’s holding you back?” Then, finally, the floodgates opened and out flowed all his doubts — sweet, succulent feedback. My pen scribbled a mile-a-minute writing down each of his concerns. As soon as he finished, he let me walk him through each one of them to show how his misconceptions were founded in fear rather than facts. He ended up giving me the thumbs up when we were done and it felt fantastic, I won.
Clearly this won’t be a foolproof method of turning everyone, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done.
We could write a book on the parallels of this point in relationships, parenting, teaching, etc. So apply it as you see fit. The Sales journey isn’t a one-time test, it’s a path built brick-by-brick every single day.
