The Sequence In Which You Do Things Matters

It matters if you put discovery before presenting. It also matters if you set the context for the conversation by sharing ideas and insights and experiences that suggest your dream client should explore doing something different. The order in which you do these things can improve or diminish your chances for achieving your desired outcomes. You might set the stage for change or ruin it.

You might start at the top of the organizational chart in hopes of being sponsored down into the organization. You might also sneak in the back door, find someone who will engage with you and give you a theory that helps you to create an opportunity with leadership. Both of these are viable strategies, but choosing one means not choosing the other. Each comes with advantages and disadvantages. You may eliminate resistance or create it.

You could choose to bring obstacles and opponents into the sales process early, counting on your sponsors and coaches to defend your idea and help them agree to change—or at least stand down. Another choice would be to isolate the opponents to you and your change until your initiative is a forgone conclusion, a runaway train that can no longer be stopped. You may win a deal to find you lack the support to make it work.

You might do the most difficult or unpleasant task first thing in the morning, when your will is at highest point, and when you have the psychic RAM. You might also do what you enjoy the most when your energy is at its peak and save the thing you like to do least until the end of the day. The order in which you do things will have an impact on whether—and how—they get done.

Good salesmanship is made up of good choices. You have to decide what to do, and oftentimes you must decide in what order to things. The decision as to the sequence comes with consequences, and the decision as to the order of operations is as important as the decision as to what to do and how you do it.