The Sales Archaeologist

I was reading about former President Lyndon Johnson and never realized how many sweeping pieces of legislation he was responsible for getting passed - especially those bills related to civil rights. Three of the most revolutionary and society changing acts were not only passed during his administration, they were promoted, pushed and sold in any way possible to make them happen in spite of strong resistance. Many historians now say that he was a great president and a great leader because of this.

But when people these days think about Johnson they probably are more likely to associate him with Vietnam than they are with Civil Rights.

What a lesson.

Sometimes the best stuff we do an a sales call or in a sales situation will go unnoticed and will be overshadowed by  something else, something worse and the prospect will never get past that to see what the "best stuff" is. This usually will happen when we present too early without finding the compelling reasons and the reasons why the prospect wants us there to begin with.

Usually when we conduct a coaching call and get to conduct a "what went wrong" on a lost piece of business we discover that is indeed the case. Sales people need to gain some control of their hidden weaknesses in order to ask the tough questions and hold off on presenting too early.

Of course in order to do that you need help. Help uncovering the weaknesses, help overcoming them and someone to hold you accountable to the changes.