You are responsible for what kind of salesperson you are going to be now and in the future. I am going to try to convince you to be a certain kind of salesperson, the kind we call One-Up. I will also try to persuade you to avoid doing anything that might harm your success in sales. In the end, you will have to choose for yourself.
Is Sales a Job or a Craft?
Most salespeople treat sales as a job. Some believe it is a career. Yet others, me included, believe it is a craft. The word craft refers to something made by hand or using artistic skill. Because the sales conversation is complex and dynamic, being a craftsman means making the sales conversation something that creates value for your clients using nothing but words and ideas.
If you have a sales leader who encourages you to practice your craft, count yourself lucky. Most sales managers will ask you to do your job, with no concern about what kind of salesperson you become.
A Know-Nothing or One Who Knows Much
Once a salesperson has been onboarded, they know how to position their company and their solution. But because that information is easily found on their company’s website, it results in the salesperson knowing nothing. Too many salespeople fall into this trap.
Those who reject the idea of being a know-nothing and seek information and experience that would help their clients by creating value and positioning themselves as being One-Up. To be a salesperson who knows much requires reading and research, the kind that lesser salespeople are not willing to do.
Self-Oriented or Other-Oriented
Some salespeople are self-oriented in a sales call. When you are motivated to win the client’s business, with little consideration for how you’ll actually improve their results, you behave this way. We describe these sales reps as “need-something” salespeople. When you are focused on what you need, you are self-oriented. Being self-oriented will make it difficult for you to win deals.
An other-oriented approach would have you focusing on what your prospective client needs, giving them your full focus. This is one of those things that causes confusion. By not needing the opportunity, you are more likely to win the client’s business. You want to be a salesperson that doesn’t need the client’s business, even though you want their business.
Disciplined or Undisciplined
Even using the term self-disciplined can cause salespeople to shudder. In a role where you have more autonomy than many other business roles, a lack of discipline can cause you to fail. First, you must pick up the phone and book meetings, even if you would rather do something else instead. Second, you are responsible for managing yourself, preparing for meetings, and following up with your clients. Those who are unable to discipline themselves to do their work will never succeed in sales.
A salesperson able to discipline themself to do the right work in the right way at the right time, regardless of whether they want to do the work or not, will likely succeed in sales. The rep that does 90-minutes of prospecting each day will have little trouble acquiring a first meeting. They will also have the days and weeks planned on Sunday, ensuring they do the work they need to succeed.
Legacy Approach or Modern Sales Approach
Those who choose—or are made to—use a legacy approach are practicing methodologies that were developed in between the end of the 1960s and the 1990s. This is like walking onto a car lot to buy a horse and carriage. These outdated sales methodologies were never created to provide the sales experience today’s buyers demand.
Those who practice a modern sales approach have a tremendous advantage over those practicing the legacy approaches because modern methodologies create value for their prospective clients, helping them explore change and make a decision they are not often required to make. The salesperson here will have success using a modern sales approach.
Efficient or Effective
There are sales organizations that belong to the cult of efficiency. Many salespeople have joined the cult, believing that things like automation and other technologies will improve their sales results. A person is only efficient if their activity produces the desired results. If the idea of spamming people with automated messages captures your attention, you are in this cult. Efficiency will never cause you to win a client’s business.
If you are going to join a cult, allow me to invite you to join the cult of sales effectiveness. There are salespeople who focus on being the most effective salespeople in their company and their industry. These people are not worried about being efficient. Instead, they work to improve their win rates. These sales folks do a lot more work by hand, and they win more deals than those who focus on trying to cheat the nature of professional selling.
What Kind of Salesperson Will You Be?
What kind of salesperson you choose to be is up to you. The choices you make for yourself will determine what kind of salesperson you are. It will also cause your prospective clients to recognize what kind of salesperson you are, something you can assess by looking at how many first meetings never resulted in a second meeting. No client is going to reach out to you for help if you are not the salesperson they need.
You want to be the kind of salesperson that has your client saying, “Get me [insert your name here].” You want your client to want you more than you want them. You can—and you should—sell in such a way that your client wants to buy from you instead of a competitor.
If you want to pursue being the kind of salesperson with a high level of effectiveness, you can start your journey to being One-Up by studying Elite Sales Strategies: A Guide to Being One-Up, Creating Value, and Becoming Truly Consultative. If you buy the book, email me the receipt, so I can send you the fillable PDF workbook.
