The Sales Archaeologist

Many times on my blog I draw analogies between historical events and happenings in the world of sales. That said there are so many that I could draw on related to being the underdog and overcoming what seemed like insurmountable odds - George Washington, Napoleon, Julius Caesar all had the experience of being an underdog at some point. Of course we don't think of them that way now because at some point they overcame or worked through that and eventually they became the top dog.

So what if you are a sales person and you are facing this challenge - You are a new company, you have a new product, you are a start up. These scenarios by definition mean that you may not be known, there might be skepticism, you will not have testimonials or case studies, references are few and far between and many other challenges.

Let's admit that this can definitely be a difficult situation at times , however the best sales people somehow can manage to succeed. What do they do?

1. They sell themselves first - the prospect has to buy the person 100% and great sales people are able to establish really strong speed on bases and make an incredible First Impression
2. They get the prospect to become so focused on problems, issues and compelling reasons that they no longer focus on who the company is or how strong the references are.
3. They controll the sales process from start to finish and don't allow questions related to the company throw them off course. They push back when necessary rather than grovel or beg for the business.

So if you are a sales person and you struggle with some of this you should probably get some help. If you are a CEO then you want to make sure your existing and new people can execute the skills outlined above. And if you are a VC an Angel Investor or a Financial Backer of some type then I would want to know that the company has at least discussed their approach - hopefully with an expert - to selling this new product.