The Sales Archaeologist

I had an interesting conversation the other day with an executive from a pretty large company in Idaho. We had been talking for about fifteen minutes and then I asked a question, he paused and said "hold on a minute while I shut my door".

In our world those words are a really good sign! Think about what that means, what that says about the content of the conversation. What does it say about the rapport that has developed? What are the implications related to trust and honest answers? A very simple response - but a response that says so much about where the call is going and let's me know I can now expect the conversation to get much better - and it did!

It was said that General Eisenhower could tell from the demeanor and moral of the men how well the front line was doing. Napoleon would talk to a private or two to determine what needed to happen and Julius Caesar was said to learn things by watching his men eat. All simple things that triggered an understanding of the battle.

So when you talk to your sales people do they have a clear understanding of this "shut the door" principle? What has to happen on your calls - just one simple thing - that let's you know things are really going in the right direction? What questions will your prospect ask? What homework will they do? How responsive will they be? Take a look at past success stories and find the common demoninator - discuss it and work with it. Then plan your calls with that in mind.

My goal going forward as an example is to try and get them to shut the door.