What’s The Difference Between Crazy And Genius In Sales? Results

Think like a prospect for a second and tell yourself how you would feel if you received the following cold call, "Hi, this is Bill and I am your account rep at XYZ Company. We've been in business for 22 years and have the largest selection of widgets in the western U.S. I was just calling on you today to see if I could talk with you about your widget use..."

Do you think prospects are tired of hearing that same initial cold call from every salesperson from every continent on earth? Think about the cold calls you've heard your sales peers make. They're all the same, aren't they? No wonder prospects get annoyed with salespeople.

Sales proposals are another example. Do you think prospects get tired of seeing the same bloated proposals with all of the same elements from every salesperson they see? [Tip: They go right to the price page anyway; if you have some really critical points you want to make, be sure to put them on the price page. More on this in a later post.]

The fact is that most salespeople have average results precisely because they do what every other salesperson is doing. We tend to all look the same because we are the same in our sales approach. When we start a new sales job what do we do? We look around and mirror what everyone else is doing at our new employer.

We feel safe doing what we see others do. We all know that sheep feel safest when they do what the rest of the herd is doing.

We pay a steep price in our sales results when we default to the that's-how-everyone-does-it sales approach. Sales superstars do crazy and different things to increase their sales revenues and rise above the background noise of their competitors.

I love to hear low producing salespeople make fun of the sales techniques used by the superstars. Do you know why they make fun of these above average performers? Because they are doing something outside of the norm that makes the sub-performers uncomfortable. Instead of making fun of them, they should be learning from them.

Being different and trying new things can be scary and requires work. The work includes learning new sales skills, observing sales superstars, experimenting with new sales ideas and getting out of your sales comfort zone. Keep in mind, being different and trying new things means you'll fail sometimes too. But the superstars and the soon-to-be-superstars get right back on their feet and keep learning and trying new things.

To close, I'd like to give you some questions to see if you are rising above the white noise of stale sales techniques. If you answer "yes" to two or more of these you might be on the right track.

Are you always in trouble with your sales manager for trying crazy ideas, yet your sales are stellar? Are your fellow sales professionals always interested in the details of exactly how you landed that last big order? Do you find that your sales manager has to frequently run interference for you each time you land a big order because you have so many special requests of marketing, product support, pre-sales support, etc.? Does the VP of Sales or President of your company have to call various department heads from time to time with a message that is similar to, "I know Steve frequently has requests of your department that are unusual, but make sure you work with him as he is about to land another big order."

How did you do?

Now go out and go crazy. Your prospects are waiting for something fresh.

2008 Scott R. Sheaffer

A sales training blog for sales representatives and sales management, helping you accelerate business development.

For more information: http://salesvitamins.com

Scott Sheaffer, CSE, ATM, writes Sales Vitamins (http://salesvitamins.com) and is a contributing writer for other blogs and publications. He lives in Dallas, Texas and has worked in sales, sales management and sales training for over 20 years in companies ranging from small enterprises to Fortune 500 companies. The focus of Scott's industry experience has been with distributors. He is a graduate of Baylor University and a member of ASTD.

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