Farting in Church

With the tens of hits our site receives every quarter, Cahill and myself are starting to establish ourselves as “experts in the field” and are gaining the notoriety that accompanies this type of transition.

For example, America Online just sent me a CD with, and I’m not bragging here, 1000 free hours of service.

Hey, don’t be jealous, we’ve paid the cost to be the boss.

Along those same lines, we have received several advance copies of upcoming sales books that we will review and post on TSW in the next few weeks.

Before I crack open the latest addition my library, let discuss one of those tenets that you will find in every sales book:

YOU HAVE TO TALK TO THE DECISION MAKERS

Some books will go to extremes to emphasize the point:

• “Start on Mahogany Row and Stay There”
• “If you are not talking to the top dogs, you are wasting your time”
• “You should insult, curse, and spit on anyone whose not a decision maker” (ok, made this one up)

The key point that many sales warriors and some sales books miss is that

YOU HAVE TO PREPARE TO TALK TO THE DECISION MAKERS

Have you ever farted in church?

Im not talking S.B.D, but the louder, trumpet-like expulsion that usually releases shortly after the preacher announces “Let us Pray”.

I have.

The embarrassment you feel is exactly the same when you finally get that Executive Champion on the phone and you panic and start spewing cliche’s (lowest cost of ownership, excellent customer service, our people set us apart, etc.) or worse, product features (You know Mr. Buffet, our use of X9.37 files gives our system superior performance).

While this may come as a shock to some, and quite frankly may scare others, I am a “decision maker” with P/L responsibilities for a business unit.   As you start preparing to talk with those with similar responsibilities, let me share some facts from the other side of a deal:

There are Multiple Decision Makers in Every Deal

If you are calling on my team, you need to treat everyone like they sign the checks, especially my gatekeepers.  I trust these people to keep distractions out of my day and if I find that you treated them with anything but the utmost respect, you are toast.

As for the rest of the team, they are there for a reason.  If I just went out and made a purchase that affected their daily jobs, without seeking their input, how do you think that would go over?  (See Title for Big Clue).

Each person on the team has unique responsibilities and duties, you need to learn what they are and figure out how your solution helps them before you start pitching.

Finally, who really is the decision maker?  It’s not me.  I’m only the poor schmuck whose ass is on the line if your solution fails to deliver.  If your contracts make it to my desk, you need to start figuring out who the next set of decision makers who can make your blank contract turn into a Purchase Order.

I Don’t Care About Your Solution.  I Really, Really Don’t.

All I Care About is the Results It Can Bring.

I have used dozens of salesforce automation tools, CRMs, PIMs, etc., and while I have my favorites, my biggest challenge with structured systems was accommodating information that didn’t fit the norm.

When I was just learning about mind mapping, I saw a recommendation for this product called “TheBrain”.  Its a visual, dynamic knowledge mapping tool that allows me to organize the events, data, information, tasks, and reference information in free-form structure that allows me to manage my professional life in the way that coincides with how the mind works.

So on the surface, when I open up “Sasser’s Brain” in the morning, it looks like the image below, nice, neat, organized.  I have a pin at the top called “Active Projects” that will take me to the place where I keep track of all the initiatives that we have in progress.  It’s just beautiful.

Sasser's Brain at the Start of the Day

However, after a few phone calls, emails, and communique’s with my superiors, my brain starts to look like this.

Sasser's Brain After 15 Minutes at Work

So you are going to call me in the middle of this?

What are we going to talk about?

If you start wasting my time I will give you one shot to end the call politely with no harm, no foul.

“Tom, thanks for your call, work with Mary on our evaluation team and we look forward to reviewing your solution”.

There’s your chance to leave with no ill affects.

Push the limit and your chances of winning will drop dramatically.

“Tom, again, I must ask that you work with Mary”

After this point, you are just plain stupid.

Here’s what decision makers care about:

• Improved Revenues
• Lowered Expenses
  
• Efficiency of Operations
  
• Managed Risk

That’s really it.

Everything in my 15-min Brain can be associated with one of these items.

When talking to Decision Makers, tie your conversations to one of these four issues, but for the love of all that is holy, have relevant, concrete examples ready to go.

You:  “We have the lowest cost of ownership”

DM: “Is that so, how?”

Bad: “Our virtual engine technology allows our architecture to offer the highest degree of flexibility in the mid-tier”

Good: “We can lower your expenses by shortening your time to market, with less labor.  In organizations like yours, the savings is usually 20%”

The conversation should last under five minutes.

Your goals for the call should be:

• To establish personal contact
• Build some credibility
• Leave the decision maker wanting to know more (so they will show up to your demo).

Good Luck

Sasser