We have all heard the stories of the superstar salesperson. This person has the magic touch, the gift of rapport and the innate ability to close deals. But as Malcolm Gladwell describes in his classic book Blink, often, the superstar’s natural abilities gives them skills that they don't really understand, can’t explain, and definitely can’t teach. Gladwell gives dozens of examples, such as a tennis teacher who knows when a player is going to double fault before the ball is struck but can’t say how he knows it. The tennis player that swears up and down that his secret to hitting a cross-court winner is in the way he rolls his wrist when in reality, super high-speed film shows that at impact, his wrist does not roll at all! So what are some of the things top sales performers actually do that make a difference and that are teachable and repeatable? Let’s take a look a short list of fundamentals - a list that Neil Rackham calls First Approximations (with a few modifications and additions from me!):
Top Performers
-Plans the call in detail
-Gets down to business quickly
-Asks insightful questions
-Holds back on talking product features and benefits early in the sale
-Ends the call by agreeing on joint “next steps”
Average performers
-Plans a presentation
-Spends too much time in boring small talk
-Does most of the talking and asks unfocused questions
-Jumps in early with product descriptions and PowerPoint
-Often ends the call with no action or agreement
In sales, in sports, and in life...there are often a few little things that make 80% of the difference. Those things usually include some very simple, repeatable, and teachable fundamentals.
Good selling!
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