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Go With The Flow Selling #534
Too often we’re overly concerned about the competition or comparing ourselves to others. This fear whips us into a frenzy and we fail to economize our energies, to the detriment of our pipeline. You’ve been told time and time again to get organized, follow the process, and leverage the power of your CRM. But this advice falls on deaf ears. What if there was a better way? A way of selling that has a natural flow that avoids obstacles and reaches its destination the fastest way possible. Maybe a river would be a good metaphor. What can we learn from the nature of water and how it applies to selling? You know the Tao loves to envision our lives in the context of flowing water. Right? Go with the flow selling. That’s our topic for today.
Today’s Chapter: Discipline
Master selling is like water.
Water gives life to the marketplace and does not strive.
It flows in places most people reject,
yet the seller is content doing a job most fear.
In prospecting, be close to the marketplace.
In qualifying, search deep for the need.
In dealing with prospects, be gentle and kind.
In presenting, be true.
In negotiations, be just.
In business, be competent.
In action, watch the timing.
Where there is no arm twisting,
there are no unhappy customers.
Today’s Story
On Monday, Pat replaced the sales manager to turn around the sales team. The entire organization was struggling. A quick survey of the team’s Key Performance Indicators illustrated the problem. Some days there were many outbound calls, other days none along with haphazard follow-up emails and phone calls. Pat’s predecessor was loosey-goosey when it came to process and discipline. This had to stop.
Pat called a team meeting and shared concerns about the lack of discipline. Chris spoke up. “We have a philosophy that sales is an art and a feel. We all wing it and that’s working.”
“But it’s not!” responded Pat. “I’m afraid your team is being kept in the dark. Sales are way down and the business is in serious trouble. If we don’t turn this around by the next quarter, our jobs are in jeopardy.”
The team turned somber now, understanding the removal of their old boss.
Pat went on. “There’s a process for qualifying leads, appointment setting, pitching services, and closing new clients. It’s easy when you have a process. It’s like following the current of a rapid river, you’ll get pulled along in the right direction. I must admit that you’ve not had the best leadership. But I pledge to take my past success and make that happen here. I’m committed to your future. Your success is our success.”
And that was the first in many more daily coaching meetings that turned around sales department
Take Action Quote
Lao Tzu wrote, “Supreme good is like water. It’s good for all living things and flows without thinking about where it’s going. When you’re content with being yourself, neither comparing nor competing, everybody will respect you.” (TTC #8)
There is freedom with self-discipline. Like a rapid river, there are limits to where it can go, yet it knows the fastest path to the sea. Knowing when and where to exert energy, conserves energy wasted on irrelevant activities. A solid selling process eliminates ambiguity, lack of confidence, missed schedules, and lost deals. Instead of fearing the competition, a solid process keeps you focused and undistracted. Focusing your energy ensures you do the best possible. What others do is of no matter. What matters is closing your sales pipeline.
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How to Connect with Pat Helmers at Sales Babble
Sales Babble shares selling secrets for non-sellers. Masterful selling is understanding what buyers want, discerning if you can help, showing what you have and helping them to make a decision that is good for their business and yours. See https://salesbabble.com
I’ve interviewed 100s of sales experts and discuss all things sales: prospecting, qualifying, value propositions, presentations, demos, closing, generating referrals, earning references, upselling, marketing, lead generation, copywriting, and most important the right selling mindset. Stop fearing sales and embrace it.
This is a production of Habanero Media https://habaneromedia.net
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Last month my son Tim Helmers took his own life. It’s been devastating. Words fail to capture our grief.
