The Golden Rule Of Sales

While watching the attached video, I am reminded of how many sales reps that I have supported in executive meetings have acted.  It seems as though after all of the hard work they put in to get to meet with a CEO, CFO, President, VP or Director, they get in the meeting and fall apart.  It is as if they are the dog rolling around on the floor because they are so excited to make a pitch, and I am the cat that wants to whack them in the head.  They let their excitement take hold of the situation and they forget the golden rule of sales: listening.  

In the age of digital media our lives are all moving a million miles a minute, and often our minds become overloaded with all of the information we are trying to process.  Any given moment we are thinking about a variety of things: did I answer that email; oh no, my phone is vibrating; I need to pitch my product quickly, my next meeting is in forty-five minutes and traffic is going to be terrible...instead of trying to just be in the moment.  This is what I imagine when I watch my rep looking like a deer in headlight going, “Blah, blah, blah, quality, blah, blah, blah, customer service, blah, blah, blah, newest technology,” when he or she should be focused on asking questions and listening.  

An owner or executive will almost always appreciate the opportunity to talk about his or her company.  I’m not trying to go back to sales 101, but I notice more and more that my sales reps are preaching and thinking about what they need to do next rather than connecting with the prospect, collecting information, and then coming back with new ideas.  Ultimately, the goal is to learn how your company can increase efficiency and lower the overhead.  I have found that this may not be the only thing an executive is concerned with, but it is at the top of his or her list.  

Let me know if you have seen this in your sales endeavors, and what you are doing to correct it.