The Rhythm of the Sales Process
"What are you going to have?" Dick asked over his menu.
We had convened at the local barbecue joint which neither of us had yet tried. Dick had declared that one could tell the worthiness of a barbecue place by the human attributes assigned to the pig on the sign. This restaurant was called The Dancing Pig and the sign featured a fat, pink, dress-wearing pig standing on her back legs and spinning a hula hoop around her middle. Based on Dick's definition, this was barbecue heaven.
"A pulled chicken sandwich," I replied as I reached for my water glass.
"Chicken? I didn't notice any dancing chickens on the sign," Dick scolded.
The waitress came over, pulled a pencil out of her bobbed hair and stood expectantly as Dick continued to peruse the menu.
"Do you have any water besides tap water?" Dick wondered.
"What other water would there be?" the waitress replied.
"Never mind. I'll have a pulled pork sandwich with okra on the side."
After placing my order, I pulled my notebook out of my briefcase, handed Dick my worksheet and waited for him to start asking me questions. The year was 1992 and I was an Account Manager at Magic 96 radio. We were at The Dancing Pig for a sales projection meeting.
Dick jumped right in, "What's going on with Taylor Marina?"
"I originally met with them on the 7th and did a needs analysis. After getting a homework assignment, I re-convened with them on the 14th. Then, I put together a proposal based on the information I learned during those two meetings. I called back yesterday to get a meeting to present my ideas and haven't heard back, yet," I answered quickly.
"Sounds good," Dick nodded thoughtfully. "What about Sutton Ford?"
Before I could answer, the waitress came back with plates of food.
She looked at me and said, "You were the chicken?"
"I ordered the chicken," I said "but, I didn't intend it as a metaphor."
I thought it was clever and Dick had a big grin on his face, but all I got from the waitress was a blank stare. After adding the necessary amount of hot sauce and papering myself with napkins, I was ready to answer Dick's question.
"That's a different story," I began. "Mr. Sutton wasn't available to meet with me so I met with Jim Halpurn - the new car sales manager. I wasn't able to do my usual in-depth CNA because he didn't have a lot of time. I showed him several ideas that had worked for other car dealers. He asked me to put together something and send it over. I did put a presentation together and then called for a meeting."
"Then what happened," Dick prodded.
"He called me back and told me to just send over our pricing and he would see if he could work us in during 1st quarter," I finished.
"I see on your projections that you've put Sutton Ford down here for $15,000 at 50% for the quarter," Dick noted. "Based on what you just told me you should put them down at 0%."
"Zero? Why?" I gasped.
What Dick then spent the rest of the lunch telling me was the best sales lesson I learned in 1992.
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The sales process is rhythmic. A buyer and a seller come together to discuss the buyer's needs/wants/desires and the seller listens. For the purpose of clarification, the seller asks questions and the buyer, wishing to be clear, answers the questions. As the process continues, the buyer recognizes the credibility and trustworthiness of the seller and begins to more openly share ideas, thoughts and proposals. At the appropriate time, the seller offers a solution and the buyer decides whether the solution makes sense - fiscally, operationally, etc.
When the process lacks this sort of rhythm and momentum building, rarely will a sale be made. In fact, it's not unusual for a buyer to cut the process short because he has already made a decision not to buy. What Dick knew in 1992 and I did not, was that when a buyer asks for your pricing before they've expressed any belief in the value of your product they are doing it to have a reason to say "no".
Dick told me not to send our pricing until I was able to get a meeting with Mr. Sutton - the only person who could say "yes". He warned that if I sent prices to Mr. Halpurn the answer would be "no" because Halpurn was only allowed to say "no". Furthermore, once I had sent the prices and Halpurn had said "no" there was no other place for the sales process to go. I would look foolish trying to get a meeting with Mr. Sutton at that point - if his #1 guy had already told me "no".
I was disappointed with this directive and almost sent the prices to Halpurn, anyway. Instead, I decided to trust Dick and think of a) reasons why I couldn't send the information that Halpurn had requested and b) how to get a meeting with Mr. Sutton.
The following day, I called Mr. Halpurn and told him that I was getting ready to send the pricing he had requested but I just wanted to confirm that I was in compliance with company policy. Then, I described the policy that requires us to send pricing through the mail only after a) we had met with the decision maker and b) interest in buying our product had been expressed either verbally or in writing.
Then I just waited quietly.
(Now, before you get upset and tell me that it's unethical to misrepresent company policies in order to move the sales process forward, let me just tell you this: The day after my lunch with Dick, I decided that it was going to be my personal policy to never send pricing in the mail to someone who wasn't the decision maker and if interest in buying had not been expressed. I asked Dick if it was okay for someone working for his company to have such a policy and he said "yes". That made it company policy.)
Of course, Halpurn had to admit that he was not the decision maker. But, here's the beautiful part. I asked him if he could help me out with scheduling a meeting with Mr. Sutton. After he said "yes", I told him not to worry about it. I would call Mr. Sutton - saving him the trouble of doing my work for me - and let him know that Mr. Halpurn had suggested we get together.
So, that's what I did and I got the meeting with Mr. Sutton because how could he not meet with someone recommended by his #1 guy?
The lesson I learned from Dick Harlow that day two decades ago is still valid today. Be aware of where you are in the sales process and act accordingly. Make sure there is belief in your product and that you've established value before sending your prices.
Posted by TRohrer1 at 12/22/2011 4:54 PM 
Categories: Sales Techniques, Sales Management, Selling techniques
Tags: sales loudmouth tim rohrer dick harlow dancing pig selling techniques selling sales training
Categories: Sales Techniques, Sales Management, Selling techniques
Tags: sales loudmouth tim rohrer dick harlow dancing pig selling techniques selling sales training
You are right on the mark.
Sales training has instructed for quite some time that it is important to realize what the customer is "buying" and the order of their buying priorities for a sales person to be successful. They are buying:
You.
Are you professional? Credible? Sincere in understanding their business and making recommendations that help them?
Your company.
Is is credible? What is the track record? Perception in the market?
Have you been given a fair opportunity to demonstrate the first two points before getting deeply into your actual product or service?
Your product or service.
Do they need it? Do they want it? Do they want it over alternate choices or standing pat?
Price/value.
This will be done through the absolute price and the relative value to other options (not necessarily in direct competition to your product or service) or, as noted in the article, taking no action at all.
Timing.
Make the commitment now or later? You can give reasons for the benefit of quicker action but ultimately the timing of the commitment is up to the buyer.
If you do not establish your value and the value of your company then consideration of the product/service and the relative value is automatically diminished or dismissed.
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Great stuff Tim! Thanks for sharing!
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