I became known for being a great salesman. I tell stories in my book that show how that reputation came about and a bit about why. But here I want to tell you exactly what I feel were the things that made a difference in my ability to make sales. We weren’t talking about $500 sales. No, I was vying for multi-million-dollar contracts around the world. I was in the big arena and I’d never spent any time in even one small arena. It was stressful because I was dipping into an area outside my comfort zone. But like I always say – just put your head down and get the job done. And this is how I did that:
The truth is important
Like most things, it all began in the beginning of my life. As a child, I learned to tell the truth. This was easy for me because the things that got me in trouble were not really bad things, just things that bordered on the dangerous side.
I discovered that when you tell the truth and get known for telling the truth it gives you credibility. Then, when you tell someone that you did not do something in particular, they have good reason to believe you – and they do! This early lesson is foundational because at every stage of life, the truth is important.
Not being a bad but mischievous kid, I was always getting into situations that meant I had to talk my way out of it. And I did. I developed a spectacular “gift of gab.” I found the gift of gab not only got me out of sticky situations, but also gave me the ability to connect with people on a personal level, a friendly level. I believe my gift of gab started me on the path collecting successes along the way.
It came into play as I got older and more immersed in the high-tech world of robotics and business. I had to explain complex equipment and information and sell it at the same time. I became known as a guy who could talk to anyone – from the guy on the shop floor building a machine to the senior executives in the board room. It was my gift of gab that got me there.
The power of office technology
Although that “gift of gab” element of selling success has not, and probably never will, change, many other things have. When I first started selling, the only tools I had were a telex and a brochure.
Later, I was given another tool. It was the size of a briefcase and kind of looked like one, but it really was an 8mm film cassette player. It was one of the best tools I could have ever gotten. I played the movies of several dives. I was in the movies operating the controls and after seeing those movies, the people in the meetings looked and spoke to me differently. The movies gave me real credibility. I wasn’t just talking about what these machines could do, I had made them do it!
Not only that, but this device really helped me sell things because it made the product real. Potential customers could see exactly what I was talking about. That was especially important for clients that didn’t understand our high-tech approach to diving and viewed what we were doing as futuristic and unknown.
By that time in my selling career, I realized that each client was unique in both their needs and also how much of the technology they would be familiar enough with to understand. I needed to have marketing materials and information specifically tailored to meeting those criteria, if not completely tailored to a client.
That’s when I learned what I called my “cut-and-paste” technique. I used a good copy machine, sticky tape, and correction fluid known as White-Out for this. Cut and paste means I would cut paragraphs out of other documents and tape them on a white sheet of paper, along with photographs to illustrate the points and information I wanted to highlight or feature in my sales talk. I learned to use the White-Out to paint over some of the edges that were lifting up because when I copied the laid-out paper to use as a sales sheet, the edges would show up on the copy as dark lines.
At that point in the technology of office equipment, the telex was what we used to send correspondence to clients and prospects. It was exciting when we got a fax machine and shortly thereafter retired the telex. With the fax, I was able to send copies of my information that included photos to clients before we met. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words!
The early fax machines operated only in black-and-white, but they were enough to get my point across. At least enough to pique the interest of a prospect who would ask me to visit them at their office to learn more about this new technology and product. Those requests for meetings were much of the reason I flew about 1,300,000 miles by airplane, as I mentioned in my book. That is equivalent of around 50 times around the world. Yes, it was a lot of travel. But worth every hour and every mile.
Creating all those customized sales sheets took a lot of time and energy. With all the travel, it got more and more difficult to keep up with both creating my cut and paste masterpieces and meeting with prospects around the world.
You can imagine what a difference it made when I got access to a computer! It was like taking my elementary cut and paste jobs and turning them into real, professional presentations. Once we no longer needed to send documents via a fax machine, but through email, the presentations became fine art!
The documents we could put together and send to the clients were not only words and photos in color. By that time, there were also video clips we could attach. Plus, the real bonus is that they got this information in a few seconds. What a marketing tool.
Combined with a telephone, I could sometimes present, talk through, and close a deal without leaving the office! I had a Russian client I worked with for more than 15 years and I never met him face-to-face. But, in reality, he’s the exception. The technology I was demonstrating and trying to explain was so technical that only those who were familiar could visualize and understand all the finer points. So back to the airport I went.
Captain Kirk and Dr. Spock
Those two parts of selling were important, but I saved for last the best element that really influenced the selling success my company had.
My partner, Paul Colley and I worked together as a team in every aspect of the business, including sales. We were a strong team. We had overlapping skills. We operated just like a Venn Diagram illustrates. I mean that if you overlap 2 circles, the space in the middle where the two circles overlap would be our common knowledge and the section of each circle outside the adjoining part was the knowledge that we knew individually.
That made us a perfect team to go on sales calls. We had a natural rhythm that just developed as we made sales calls and it was spectacular!
Whichever one of us would start the presentation or conversation depended on the client. Oftentimes prospects would tend to favor one of us over the other. That favored person would be the person to begin. The other one of us would listen for things that the first speaker might have left out or needed to be featured in greater detail. Yes, if you know Paul or me, occasionally we would have taken the conversation off on a tangent and needed to be reeled back in.
That’s when the second speaker would chime in to get it back on track. We would hand off to each other as the presentation continued. That results in a couple of things. First, it insures we get our information out, completely and accurately. Second, it prevents our talking from becoming monotone.
Each time we switched speakers the prospects would shift their attention. This technique kept them alert and engaged. It prompted them to ask questions and learn more. It was just like when you are watching the news and one anchor gives a story, then turns it over to the co-anchor to give another. It breaks the monotony.
At first, it was just a natural pattern for Paul and me. I think it was that way because we were both excited about the product and what it could do, and we were eager to share that with customers. But after a while, we realized that it was a strategy that worked well for us and for the clients. Most of the time, the prospects became clients. They had a good understanding of the technology, and an even better understanding that we knew what we were talking about.
We were being called Captain Kirk and Dr. Spock. It didn’t take long for us to figure out why. Our credibility and reputation grew and grew as we became the “go-to” guys in the industry. People in the industry believed we could solve any problem. Indeed, clients started calling us asking if we could solve this problem or meet that need.
It was another example of how Paul and I were the perfect partners. We weren’t two peas in a pod, we were two sides of the same coin. We had like goals and used our differences to strengthen our overall team.
Sales is always a necessary part of every business. Harnessing the power of all the tools and technology available makes your sales efforts more efficient. Having a partner and building synergy doesn’t always happen, but when it does, it is magic. Paul and I created magic.
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