I

K

E

A

And I say these are the 4 things that a customer wants to see in a sales person (especially if they are Swedish!). So I is for?
Integrity – honesty, transparency, a relationship based on truth
K is easy
Knowledge – but what knowledge? Your products and services, your company’s processes, your customer’s company – their offerings, their market, their industry, their competition
E is more difficult and takes a bit of time to get.
E is for Empathy – putting yourself in your customer’s shoes, what’s it like to do their job, what are the key priorities and issues they face
Finally A – I sometimes have to spell out the first few letters A-U-T – famously on one course a delegate shouted out Autism (you wonder what’s going on in people’s minds sometimes).
A is for Authority – the customer will be evaluating you in this regard, so that if something goes wrong will this sales person have the authority and gravitas within their company to resolve the problem.

I find this very useful for getting sales people to think from the customer’s perspective rather than their own. Let me know if this approach is useful for you.

So back to the objections, here is a generic list that I have built from my workshops:
1. AAA (company) offers more options than you.
2. Your price is too high (what never heard that before!)
3. I don’t like your BBB (product/solution)
4. CCC (company) are doing a better job in this area
5. Solve all my problems, then I’ll listen to your suggestions for new products
6. Your product/solution doesn’t have the features we are looking for
7. My boss isn’t authorizing anything at the moment
8. I’d love to do it, but I just don’t have budget
9. I don’t have time now, send me some literature
10. I’m happy with my current supplier
11. You’re the third sales person this year
12. Company DDD does it cheaper
13. I bought from you 3 years ago and it was a horrible experience, why should I do business with you now

So there are 13 on the list, some that are almost duplicates. I always say that the 10 most common objections that you hear will cover 90% of all the objections you face, so why not learn how to resolve them? I will cover a structured way to resolve objections in a later post (or posts). In the meantime are there any I should add to my list from your experience, please let me know.

IF by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master,
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

So how does this relate to sales? Well, I think it is a multi-layered poem with many themes running through it including patience, being able to motivate yourself after setbacks, stoicism, being true to yourself, working hard and overcoming obstacles – sounds like selling to me! So here are a few ideas on each verse:

• Verse 1, in my opinion, is about being true to one’s self. There are always going to be people who think differently than you, or misjudge you for one reason or another. I think the poem is saying that we need to rise above this, and do what we know is right and just. Don’t let others provoke you into actions you know are wrong. Know the value of your self worth, but don’t become conceited.
• Verse 2 is about overcoming obstacles that get in your path, whether by others, or of your own making. Follow your dreams, but be realistic in the approach. I believe this section is teaching perseverance, to keep going, even when things get rough.
• Verse 3 is about never giving up! It is truly hard to get back up after life has beaten you into the ground (cold calling!). It can be done though, if we always believe in ourselves and know that we did it once so we can do it again! This is a very important lesson, and one that we all should take to heart. Kipling knew how hard life can sometimes be, and I think this section of the poem is full of hope for all of us.
• Verse 4 has two important lessons. Firstly, that we are all equal. Don’t put yourself above anyone else, but know that you are just as good as everyone else. There are things to be admired in almost everyone if you look hard enough. Secondly, is to never waste time. Make every minute of every day count!

Read the poem with your “sales head” on and see how many of the themes parallel the working life of sales people. As usual, I would be interested in any ideas either about “IF” or if you think there is a better poem to sum up a life in sales.

How about listening to “IF” read by Desmond Lynam showing photographs of the 1998 World Cup – yes really