Sales’ dirty little secret. I’ve seen salespeople get threatened because of it. I’ve seen them get fired for it. I’ve seen salespeople quit because of it. I’ve seen sales candidates refuse to take the job because of it. I’ve seen grown women cry because of it. I’ve seen strong men tremble in front of it. I’ve seen the best salespeople succeed because of it.
Frank Salisbury (Sales Training: A Guide to Developing Effective Salespeople) said that sales’ dirty little secret is the #1 reason salespeople want to get out of the field of sales and go into management.
Think of sales as being like a wagon wheel. The outer rim of the wheel is the end of the sale. The contract is signed, sealed, and delivered. The wagon is ready to roll. But it’s the hub of the wheel where the sale begins. Sales’ dirty little secret is that hub.
Everything else – qualifying, presenting, handling objections, negotiating, closing, follow-up, product, service – is a spoke in the sales wheel. Without the hub there are no spokes; without the spokes, there is no wheel.
Salespeople wanted
What’s sales’ dirty little secret? See if you can tell by reading these actual sales want ads found on CareerBuilder.com’s site.
Job requirements for an insurance company: “See yourself developing a client base, building relationships, being recognized and rewarded for sales success, and maximizing your earning potential. What it takes: success driven individual, proven ability to build rapport, negotiation and closing skills, and solid presentation and communication skills.”
Sales’ dirty little secret is safe with them.
Here’s one from a payroll company: “Developing sales strategies, techniques, and tactics based on customer feedback and market environment. Collaborating with management to achieve monthly sales targets with close attention to increasing market share and key account growth.”
There’s no hint of sales’ dirty little secret here.
One more. This for a sales position selling printing services: “The ideal candidate will have a commercial printing sales background, and show a progressive record of successful sales experience and territory account management.”
Sales’ dirty little secret? They know but they’re not telling.
Want a clue? Most every sales job begs for experienced applicants. What does experience mean? It means the applicants understand sales’ dirty little secret. The hub of the wheel. What makes the wheel and the deal turn. What makes salespeople successful.
Getting close
This want ad comes close to identifying the secret. It’s from a national uniform provider. “Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience; minimum of three years business-to-business outside sales experience with focus on new account generation, preferably selling a service; geographic sales territory; experience using consultative selling approach; strong presentation and communication skills.”
See the secret? Yeah, they’re still dancing around it.
My old boss, cellular pioneer and entrepreneurial billionaire Craig McCaw, has a new start-up business, Clearwire. I can’t count the number of new businesses he’s started since I worked for him back in the mid-to-late 80’s when he was starting McCaw Communications and Cellular One and later sold them to AT&T wireless for $12 billion. (Nextel was another one of his he recently sold for a few billion more.)
I think one of the reasons for his great successes is that he discovered early on (because he did it himself) not to be afraid of sales’ dirty little secret. When recruiting salespeople for his organizations he always includes sales’ dirty little secret in all his sales want ads; then reinforces it in the follow-up interviews. He knows what makes salespeople successful.
The reason McCaw uses the secret upfront in his ads and interviews is to disqualify potential sales applicants. By eliminating those who fear the secret, he saves thousands of interview hours for the management team, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in training costs. No use hiring and training someone who is intimidated by the secret only to have them quit two or three weeks later after going out into the field.
What does Craig McCaw know? What is sales’ dirty little secret that he uses to his advantage and you can use to yours? Think about it, discuss it, and meet me back here for the next blog for the answer.