Greg's Right FIT #549–This week: Inaction, Purchasing agents, Bumpers

Quick notes to help you find new business in less time with less effort. . . sometime next week.

In this issue: 

• Thoughts about Inaction
• Being Human – Can you fix it?
• Random Stuff
• Back In The Day

Thoughts about Inaction

• The biggest competitor most salespeople face is inaction, or the status quo. Another way of saying this is the biggest competitor is inside the prospect's company already, simply doing what they've always done. Ask something like, "If you think it should be fixed, and is important enough to get fixed, why isn't it being fixed?"
• The internal competition holding your solution back is limited. In no particular order there's politics, other priorities, staffing, and incumbent solutions. The good news is since the list is finite, we can prepare for each situation and test solutions to each one individually, or combinations of the four.
• One way of dealing with internal competition is to bring it up before they do, Eminem "8-Mile" style. Asking about politics or asking them how they'll justify your solution against other priorities can lead to great conversations.
• One more word on company politics. Using a third party solution is a good hedge against politics. When everyone internally has a boss looking over their shoulder, managing a vendor can increase productivity because they sit outside the office. It's worth talking about.

Being Human – Can you fix it?

I went to a party recently and bumped into an acquaintance I hadn't visited with in over a decade. He used to be a purchasing manager at one of our big companies and I knew a few salespeople who needed his approval for purchases to hit their sales numbers. I witnessed him dress down one of these salespeople at a golf course function. The salesperson tried to strike up a conversation about a deal they were working on and this guy lit the salesguy up, yelling at him about being a pest and other such things. It was very dramatic.

I thought about this when picking up an old sales book, "Solution Selling," by Bosworth. It's one of the early sales books I read and someone referenced it, so I'm re-reading. Early on he said buyers instinctively look to buy from sellers who demonstrate control of company resources. His hypothesis is if the seller needs to show a purchasing agent they can get people inside the seller's company to jump. The reason they look for this, he said, is that when something is wrong that salesperson will be able to fix it.

I wonder if this applies to the old purchasing agent I reminisced with at the party? If so, at the time he may have thought something like, "if this guy is such a pest that I can't shake him when we're trying to relax, he'll be a pitbull on his staff when something is wrong."

I'll wager that thought never crossed his mind.

Random Stuff

Part of life in the USA is reliance on a car. Over the years we've had a few, but the last one I purchased for myself was nearly fifteen years ago. I've been pretty gentle on it, but it's a regular expense I fantasize about doing without. My daughter is moving to Spain and is selling her ride. She'll be living the dream of life without a car. Unfortunately, her selling process revealed some problems with a prior repair. We commiserated about the expenses of transportation and I told her about my bumper.

As gentle as I've been on my car for over a decade, it only took one rushed minute this winter for me to put a big dent in the bumper. Big enough to need a repair. I've delayed taking it in because they might tell me the repair will cost more than the car is worth. That means I'll have to make a choice. Fix it or berate myself for being cheap each time I see it.

This happened to a car we had twenty years ago. I crash tested that bumper against an immovable object, just like I did with this one. I took it to a local body shop and they quoted me a price that, while not more than the car was worth, it was more than I wanted to spend. Eerily similar to my current situation. Weeks later, I kid you not, that car was in an accident and totaled. The insurance company paid out enough to get the bumper fixed and then some. Issue resolved.

You know, come to think of it, that worked out pretty well. Maybe I'll go get a quote on my truck. Don't worry, I'll stay alert and wear a seatbelt.

Back in the Day

What I was thinking about last year, five years ago, and ten years ago.

• Last Year: Right FIT #497 – Double check your intent before engaging with prospects. We have a sixth sense that detects intent, so if your motives aren't pure, it shows. Unless you're a psycho. Luckily those are few and far between.
• Five Years Ago: Right FIT #288 – Besides a silly joke about jorts, the thing that sticks out in this letter is the little bit on "how will they know?" I hear sales reps say their clients told them something like, "we need more" all the time. Find out how much more. Ask them how they'll know when they have more.
• Ten Years Ago: Right FIT #26 – A story about our first dog, Louie the Beagle, sneaks in. Not all dogs are the same, even if they are the same breed. We don't expect them to be. Yet, there are times we treat humans like they're all the same. It's easier than personalizing, but not as effective.