Momentum 347: This week: People talk, Value, Sell me
GREG’S SALES MOMENTUM NEWSLETTER #347
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Quick notes to help you grow your business in less time with less effort. . . sometime next week.
In this issue:
– Things other people said
– Being Human
– Random Stuff
Things other people said
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- “If you give up a day, you may recover a week.”
– Dean Robinson, Australia’s Family Business Transformer - “Define your culture, hire those that will live it, believe it in it and advocate for it to others, and then get out of the way and let them do their thing.”
– Dillon Allie, HDMZ
- “When our words fall short, the measurement system keeps communicating.”
– Kathy Letendre, Letendre & Associates - “One might argue getting old is the most common most haunting long term disease of all.”
– Kevin Mikuls, Singer/Actor
Being Human – Value is in the eye of the beholder
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“People love to buy. They hate to be sold.”
If there is any disadvantage to a career in sales, it’s that I’m easy to sell to. I have a vested interest in seeing the end of a sales cycle. It warms the cockles of my heart when I hear solid discovery, a good tie-down, overcoming of objections, and closing questions.
The upside is many salespeople are terrible at all those things. They make assumptions, use techniques masking their intent, run from objections, and never get around to asking for the business. Case in point, for the last year the neighborhood has been overrun with a group from one of our local internet providers. Century Link is installing a fiberoptic system in the ‘hood and it’s supposed to be faster than my current gigabit service. (which never gets close to a gigabit, and it makes me mad) It’s cheaper too. I only know this because I research things when the bad salespeople leave.
I read an anecdote many years ago from the owner of one of Texas’ biggest department stores. I think it was either Mr. Neiman or Mr. Marcus. He too, loves sales. He made a pact with himself that he would buy anything sold to him by a competent salesperson. Whether he needed it or not. When his wife suggested this might be expensive he said he would also refuse to buy anything that was not sold to him.
He went an entire year without buying anything and eventually abandoned the effort.
The sales approach I’m most interested in is door-to-door. It can’t work very well, I think, because who answers the door anymore? Talk to a stranger in person? Plus, terrible salespeople? Seems expensive. I read an article highlighting the life of one of these characters, and it confirmed a lot of my biases.
In other news, I’m getting my new Century Link service installed today. I just needed someone to ask.
(I could have hugged him he did so well)
Random stuff
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“Hounds follow those who feed them.” — Otton von Bismarck
I am standing in Boston Commons, killing some time before my Airbnb opens, when I feel a tug on my pant leg. I look down, and a squirrel is starting to climb up my trousers. I’m too surprised to react, and he stops at about my knee where we proceed to regard one another. I give him the universal sign for “I got nothing,” (plus a little wave of my hand) and he jumps off, running toward another park goer.
I think about the little tree rat because I’m reading a story about backyard bird feeders changing the migratory habits of bird species. Small changes in one’s environment can bring about long term consequences.
When I worked in an office I went in early and left late. I could have used a coach to help with life balance, but instead focused on brute effort to get things done. On more than one occasion my work life required trips to off-site locations where we’d strategize over malted beverages. Some of these after work gatherings turned lengthy, and I would stumble home later than usual. The house might be quiet with my lovely bride and our offspring tucked away, and I’d see a note on the table, “Dinner is in the fridge.”
Yep, the note was written with a heavy hand and when I got the fidge I could see the effort that went into making the culinary delight. These were the days when every cell phone call cost money, so communication wasn’t just a text away. I’m not making excuses, just putting you in the proper era.
These days our migration patterns have changed. I’m working from home, and it’s my lovely bride who ventures out in the real world. After a long day teaching future leaders of the world and sitting in meetings she is not in the mood for making culinary delights. This usually means going out for a bite, but tonight I am in a creative mood. We have some tomatoes, some fire roasted veggies, etc. I run to the bakery, then get to work and make dinner. Not anything fancy, but I use most of the kitchenware, and make lots of great smells. I plate things up and admire my work.
Then I wait. And wait.
“When are you coming home?” I text. Nothing. The food cools down, and I eat all tomorrow morning’s scones while watching the local news. Then it hits me.
“Is this the night you’re going to dinner?” I text. 20 minutes later she replies, “Yes.”
I look down and Wilson the ABC is looking up. His dark eyes are larger than the Boston squirrel’s, but they want the same thing.
As luck would have it, this time I got something.
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