Upside down salesmanship was the title of a book that never got written 30 years ago. It's a long story and I won't bore you with the details. I like the title because it accurately describes how I think about the art of selling. Selling seems to come naturally to lots of salespeople. This isn't a bad thing and definitely isn't a good thing either. The things you do instinctively and intuitively may not be the best things to be doing as you weave your way through your daily sales calls. Here are some examples of what I'm referring to.
Talking versus listening. It's a sure bet, if you're in sales you like to talk. I've been there and done that. In fact, growing up, my mouth was the center of my universe. Now, after I turned my approach to salesmanship upside down, my ears have become the center of my universe. Look, how much can you learn when you're talking? Not much! No amount of talking makes your sales prospects think you really care about them. Talking doesn't, but listening does. There's multiple benefits to asking questions during a sales call. The questions clearly demonstrate your interest and curiosity. The response to your questions provides you with valuable insights about your sales prospects and customers.
The more you talk the less you're able to tailor your sales presentation based on what you've learned about your sales prospect, because the more you talk the less you'll learn. Asking good questions enables you to pay close attention to your sales prospects and their problems which of course you want to solve. Here's something else that deserves being turned upside down. Stop selling and start solving. Just because your products and services offer solutions is no reason to start selling these solutions too early, which unfortunately is what too many salespeople end up doing. Start with your prospects and customers not with your products and services. You should avoid doing this until you have identified and quantified the major problems your prospects and customers are dealing with.
When you can tailor (my invention) your product and service solutions to specific and unique problems, it makes selling so much easier. It also takes some of the heat and pressure off your pricing. When I was growing up, one of my favorite movies to watch during the holiday season was "The March Of The Wooden Soldiers," which was a Laurel and Hardy musical film released in November 1934. The marching wooden soldiers were quite a sight. Perfectly aligned and always in step with each other. Each soldier did exactly what the other soldiers did in unison. Follow along with me. Salespeople do exactly the same thing. For example, a sales prospect asks you to quote on a piece of business.
So what do you do - you quote on a piece of business and so do your competitors. Imagine your prospect solicits and gets five quotations. Also imagine what he's looking for. You think he's looking for value in a written quote, nah - he's looking for the lowest and best price. You can skip the wooden soldier routine. You can also skip doing quotes and start doing sales proposals. In your sales proposal you propose value, benefits, bundled products, and all the other things you're not likely to include in a "Quote." Another thing that ought to be turned upside down is "Closing the sale." Closing the sale is actually a very hot topic. Closing the sale is extremely important to salespeople. As I say, forget about closing and concentrate on opening.
Yes opening! Opening the friendship. Opening the relationship. Opening the doors to mutual benefits shared by you and your prospects. Doesn't this make more sense? If you want to parade in front of your sales prospects and customers like wooden soldiers, then by all means A.B.C. - Always Be Closing. When you think about it, closing usually means the end to something. Whereas opening means the start of something and usually good things. One more thing needs to be turned upside down. I believe it's time management.
First of all, you can't manage time. You can't speed it up or slow it down. Everyday has 86,400 seconds which you have absolutely no control over. You see, you can't manage time but you can and should manage yourself. Self management is an art and an acquired taste. I encourage all entrepreneurs and professional salespeople to develop your interest in self management. I suspect Upside Down Salesmanship isn't for everyone. And neither is belonging to the top 1% club in your industry. Run for the hills if you see lots of wooden soldiers when you look into your bathroom mirror.
Turn your approach to salesmanship upside down and while you're doing this be bold, be daring, and be first in everything you do. According to Investment Guru Warren Buffet, who also happens to be the world's second richest man, the five most dangerous words in business may be, "Everybody else is doing it." Avoid being a copycat - be the original! Let me know what your reaction is to the concept of Upside Down Salesmanship. You never can tell, I just may get serious about writing the book I didn't write 30 years ago.
